The brutal, senseless killing of Marine veteran Michael Ryan Burke should wake every American up to a basic truth: our streets and our marketplaces are not as safe as they were, and good people are paying the price. Burke, 42, was shot in his Columbia, Missouri home while trying to sell an iPhone he had listed online, and in his final moments he texted his mother and sister, “I’m dying and I love you.”
According to investigators, Burke managed to call 911 and give a description of his attackers before he succumbed to his wounds, a detail that makes his last act uniquely brave and heartbreaking. Police say the group that came to his door had been stealing phones arranged through Facebook Marketplace and then fencing them, including at an ecoATM, in what appears to be a small organized robbery ring. Three 18-year-olds and a juvenile have been arrested and face serious charges in connection with the killing.
This is yet another example of how tech platforms, obsessed with growth and engagement, have outsourced safety to the public while refusing to take responsibility for real-world consequences. Private transactions arranged online require commonsense guardrails—verified buyer and seller processes, mandatory public meet-up locations with security cameras, and easier ways for law enforcement to track serial offenders who use these platforms to prey on sellers. The platforms’ indifference is a moral failure when lives are being gambled for the price of a phone.
We also must face the uncomfortable fact that when minors and young adults are committing organized, violent crimes, our justice and cultural systems are failing to deter them. A juvenile is accused of participating in this deadly robbery alongside adults, and while the arrests are welcome, sentences and accountability must reflect the gravity of taking a life. If we want fewer tragedies like Burke’s, it will take parents teaching responsibility, prosecutors charging appropriately, and judges imposing penalties that actually deter violent criminal behavior.
Burke’s life was defined by service—he was a decorated U.S. Marine who did missionary work abroad—and his final actions, calling for help and ensuring his family knew he loved them, deserve our reverence and outrage. Our country should honor veterans not only with words but with public policies that protect them from being preyed upon when they attempt ordinary transactions. Let his sacrifice be a rallying cry for commonsense measures to keep civilians and veterans safe.
This tragedy also exposes a larger, painful trend: a permissive culture toward theft and violence that emboldens criminals to target honest Americans with impunity. We can’t pretend these are isolated incidents while systemic problems persist—weak penalties, juvenile leniency in the face of serious crimes, and tech companies that treat safety as an afterthought all combine into a recipe for bloodshed. It’s time for leaders to stop coddling criminals and start defending law-abiding citizens.
Hardworking Americans deserve safer communities, and that means backing law enforcement, restoring deterrence, and holding every actor—individuals, parents, judges, and tech platforms—accountable. We owe it to Michael Ryan Burke to demand swift, certain justice for his killers and to implement sensible safeguards so no other family has to receive that final, heartbreaking text. In honor of his memory, let us stand firm for law and order and for the dignity of those who have served this nation.
