Wednesday, Jan. 15, five-year-old Payton Benson was eating breakfast in her home around 9:45 a.m. when she was hit by a stray bullet. The bullet was intended for someone else, but just happened to go through her window and hit her almost a block away from where it was fired. Benson was taken to the hospital, but it was too late, and the gunshot wound killed her shortly after.

According to police reports, there were over 20 bullets fired in the drive-by shooting that morning, and it has been determined that the shooting was gang related. Gang violence has become too common in Omaha and cities around the country, and it, sadly, often targets people who are completely innocent of any wrongdoing, such as five-year-old Payton Benson. While it is true that violence in Omaha is more prevalent in areas where there is more poverty, violence does not just affect the geographical location in which it happens.

This is not a war that only the North Omaha community must fight. It should be something that the entire city of Omaha works to solve. While Benson’s death is very tragic, it should be used as a reminder that bullets know no targets, and no one in our city is completely immune to violence. This is not an issue of race, but rather it is more an issue of uniting as a community to create a better future for young people all over our city.

Some people may think: violence is most prevalent in places that are far from my comfortable neighborhood, so it does not affect me. But the mentality that you can distance yourself from what is happening just miles away creates a hierarchy that divides the city. People in West and Central Omaha neighborhoods should not just dismiss the violence in other neighborhoods in Omaha, but instead need to support campaigns to make the neighborhoods more safe in the entire city.

While there is no obvious solution to stopping gang violence, solutions have been proposed that the community can enact to improve the overall well-being of Omaha. Legislation being pushed by politicians, local organizations have been holding fundraisers, and there have been neighborhood meetings to raise awareness about the issue. Although all of these actions are positive steps in the right direction, it cannot just be the North Omaha community that needs to be present at these meetings. All parts of the city need to be represented at these meetings to show that the City of Omaha in its entirety is committed to making change.

In interviews with various news stations, Benson’s parents said their daughter was looking forward to going to school next year. Regardless of where we live, it should never be okay for any community to allow a five-year-old to die, and condone this violence.