Holder: Student beating death 'a wake-up call'
Obama officials meet with Chicago mayor, others on youth violence.
Chicago police officers watch students as they leave classes at Christian Fenger Academy High School on the city's South Side on Friday. The fatal beating of a Fenger honor student prompted President Barack Obama to send two members of his Cabinet to Chicago to discuss youth violence.avid Banks / AP
Chicago police officers watch students as they leave classes at Christian Fenger Academy High School on the city's South Side on Friday. The fatal beating of a Fenger honor student prompted President Barack Obama to send two members of his Cabinet to Chicago to discuss youth violence.
Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan were sent by President Barack Obama to Chicago to meet with school officials, parents and students to discuss youth violence after the vicious beating of Derrion Albert on Sept. 24. The fatal attack was captured on a cell phone video, and viewed by millions across the nation.
The scenes in the video “left an indelible mark on the mind of every American who has seen them,” Holder said.
He said the video was a “stark wake-up call to a reality that can be easy for too many to ignore as they go about their daily lives."
Holder called for a "comprehensive, coordinated approach" to teen violence involving not just law enforcement but also local religious organizations, businesses and social service groups.
School closures
Duncan said it is ridiculous to suggest that an ambitious plan to improve education in Chicago contributed to a surge in violence among students.
"Chicago won't be defined by this incident but rather our response to it," Duncan said. "I am committed to this fight, I am committed to this cause."
NBC News
Duncan, who as the former head of Chicago Public Schools helped implemented the district's improvement plan, told reporters that is easy to point fingers, but the country needs to focus it's attention instead
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