The tragic story of a central Ohio child, shot and killed, is a focus of a just released book.
November 22, 2013: Danny Thornton knocks on the door of his ex-girlfriend’s Grove City home. Nicole Fitzpatrick’s 9-year-old son, Jaiden Dixon, answers. Thornton shoots him dead.
“I still have flashbacks, I still am going through PTSD therapy,” said Fitzpatrick.
Dixon’s story is part of a new book based on the statistic that every day in America, seven young people are shot dead. Jaiden is chapter one.
“It’s a way of humanizing the statistic,” said author Gary Younge.
Fitzpatrick willingly shared Dixon's story with Younge. But she hasn't yet been able to read all of Dixon’s chapter.
“The book is about what guns do, how it impacts all walks of life,” said Fitzpatrick. “Bullets don't care who they're killing but they're killing people.”
The message is gun violence doesn't discriminate. The kids are all from different states and different environments. But there's another underlying, unwritten message.
“My book is not about gun control but it is about what happens in a country without gun control,” said Younge.
Younge is a UK native but lived in the US for 12 years. In England, where police don't carry guns, the book is being received much differently.
“When people see these things they think, wouldn’t you want to do something about it?” said Younge.
“It’s horrifying,” said Gerard Valentino, co-founder of the pro-gun group, Buckeye Firearms.
Valentino agrees with the tragedy of child shootings in the US but believes taking measures of self-defense prevents more.
“If the bad guys are going to have a gun, we have to give the law abiding citizens the ability to fight back,” said Valentino.
Fitzpatrick doesn't think a gun in her home would have helped.
“I was frozen, we were frozen, time stopped,” said Fitzpatrick.
She hopes her son's story helps send this message.
“The big thing is, keeping guns out of hands that don't need it,” said Fitzpatrick.
The book is titled Another Day In The Death Of America. It is available at area bookstores.