Escalating Violence
Last night I was sitting in our front room with my sons, Noah and Isaiah, when we heard 6 or 7 rapid gunshots fired right outside the window. We heard screeching tires, but by the time I had grabbed my phone and ran out the door there was nothing to see. The police arrived a few minutes later and found 9mm semi-automatic casings strewn about the street in front of our house. The curious thing is that last Saturday morning we were awakend by gunshots in the same place that wounded a young woman (a neighbor who was shot in the buttocks but recovering well). We watched her dad emerge from the house to find his daughter sprawled out in the alley screaming and surrounded by paramedics. We have a new neighbor who moved in three weeks ago who is getting quite a welcome to the neighborhood. (There are three bullet holes in the siding of her flat from last weeks shooting). We’ve been trying to assure her that it is a great neighborhood and that these events are seasonal and rare. And yet there have been 4 shootings within 4 blocks of our house in the last four days– plus last nights gunfire. The goodnews– when gunshots are fired everyone comes outside and it has given us an urgent reason to get to know each other. in a densely populated neighborhood like ours it is hard to tell who your neighbors are (there are always people walking down the side walk and you don’t know if they are visitors, tourists or if they live in the apartment building next to yours). We met our next door neighbors at 1 a.m. last week after the shooting. Last night Lisa and I passed around a sheet of paper and collected information and we hope to have a neighbors meeting this week.
I’ve been a little unsettled by the last week of gunfire for several reasons. One, is that last night was the first time that the kids have been so close to the gunfire (most often they are asleep in the back of the house). I saw how terrified and worried they looked. When we talked about it this morning they said they weren’t afraid for their own safety– just really concerned that someone was getting hurt outside. Two, these are just kids shooting at each other– and I’m concerned that their lack of experience with guns combined with possible drug use and adolescent bravado makes it more likely that they will miss their intended target and hit someone else.
I find that I don ‘t sleep well after the gunfire, 911 calls, and conversations with neighbors and police. I hope that our presence and prayers make a positive difference in our community. Our city neighborhoods is a complex mix of locals, vagrants tourists, families, older people– there are a few things that make it a challenge to live where we live– but we also find alot to love.
