17Jan10 – Shots fired outside my apartment building
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I was trying to get to sleep when I heard a prolonged altercation
coming from the direction of Franklin Avenue. It sounded like
inner-city black women screaming at each other in argument. More
likely they were cheering on or trying to break up a fight. Then I
heard about seven rapid gunshots, followed by silence. I got up to my
window and watched as the apparent gunman ran into an adjacent yard as
if for cover, cocked his gun (I even heard the metallic click), and
then ran north through the alley. I heard one final shot about 20
seconds later and then called 911.
The police arrived within two minutes. I fully expected there to be a
dead body in the alley. But there is little activity now in the
immediate area of the shooting (the alley just north of Franklin Ave
between 2nd and 3rd Aves). Hopefully the shooter had very bad aim. I
will walk by there tomorrow as I fetch my Sunday paper from the gas
station. Then I’ll read of whether anyone was killed.
0100
Through my binoculars I saw an ambulance pull away with lights
blaring, meaning a victim must be inside and alive. I saw another pull
away with no lights on and I assumed the worst.
I noticed that the officers weren’t yet searching in the area where I
saw the man run and cock his gun, so I went down and told them what I
told the dispatcher. The officer thanked me and said they were pretty
certain they had the shooter. I asked about the ambulance and he said
no one was actually shot, there were just some injuries from glass
shards. Thank goodness. Apparently he really did have terrible aim.
All the police need now, the officer said, is to find the gun.
It’s been a strange two days on my block. The day before the shooting,
I found a resident sex offender notification on the doorstep of my
building. The 29-year old guy, in the color photo provided, looked
like a total creep-o. And now he lives a block from me. I’m not
worried though because I am apparently not his type (cognitively
impaired twelve-year old nieces).
pseudoisaac 