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Aug 16, 2007 6:30 pm US/Eastern
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Booker Announces New Crackdown On Guns
Forced Local Registration A Key Part Of New Plan
by Christine Sloan
NEWARK (CBS) ―
There's a new plan aimed at taking guns off the streets and keeping weapons out of the hands of criminals.
The family of a recent murder victim says it's time to end the violence.
Sharif Cheatham was found dead behind the wheel of his car Wednesday night.
"You can't get away from the violence," said Nether Cheatham, the victim's grandmother.
"What I heard he was driving when he was shot they seen somebody coming behind felt they were trying to rob him, he tried to get away that's when they sprayed the car with bullets."
With the car out of control, the 20-year-old struck several pedestrians, who escaped without serious injury. Family members said Sharif Cheatham, who was visiting from Delaware, was giving a friend a ride.
"He was doing mentoring to kids from broken families," said Ann Carrington, the victim's aunt.
Carrington said he was a good kid but police say drugs were found in his car.
Cheatham's death comes after the murder of three College students in the Mount Vernon schoolyard, bringing the total number of homicides in Newark this year to 61.
Mayor Cory Booker on Thursday, joined by the governor and attorney general, announced changes to stop the flow of guns into hands of criminals in his city.
They include ordinances forcing local gun registration and the reporting of gun transfers or when a weapon is lost or stolen.
"If this one ordinance about the transfer of guns can stop, that's three or four murders we can actually stop," Booker said.
What's even more shocking, officials said the majority of guns used in violent crimes in Newark come from out of state.
"It's just like a killing field," Nether Cheatham said.
Investigators don't have a motive in the Sharif Cheatham shooting, but said their search for the two fugitives wanted in connection with Newark schoolyard murders has extended to several other states and that Federal Marshals are now helping track them down.
They also said they're about to identify another suspect.
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