Last Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions came to Memphis to talk crime, drugs, and violence, all of which are as abundant here as the barbecue. Last year, Memphis experienced a 43 percent spike in homicides, prompting Sessions to remind one and all that, “these aren’t just numbers:”

These are people, our citizens whose safety and lives are at stake everyday. They are people like the residents in Sycamore Lake Apartments here in northeast Memphis. Last week, two men were shot there and killed during a drug deal, according to the local detectives who worked the case. Tragically, this is not an uncommon thing there; since 2014, seven people, including a soon-to-be-mother and her unborn baby were murdered in just that apartment complex.

The Attorney General went on to pledge that “every lawful tool” would be employed to “take the most violent offenders off our streets.” Highlighting a link between illegal drugs and violent crime, Sessions added, “If you are a gang member, know this. You think you are targeting us. Well, we are targeting you. We will devastate your networks. We will starve you revenue sources, deplete your ranks, and seize your profits.”