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[haha]

Yesterday I was having lunch and that unhappy series sounded very nearby. I hit the floor and crept over to peak out my window. I saw two guys down, one just hitting the dirt and making himself small, the other clearly hit. I saw nothing else. Very shortly I heard sirens, and soon a couple of firetrucks, lots of police SUVs and an aid car show up in the street. The police fanned out in small groups to go up the alleyway by my building, then behind various buildings. Next the not-mortally-injured man was in an aid car and off to Harbor View. I guess the perps were gone, but soon the cops busied themselves looking for and collecting casings from the street and the sidewalk and grass divider. The injured man was apparently an innocent bystander, and supposedly the intended targets and the drive-by shooters had traded shots. This may not be accurate, all I heard was the tap-tap- tap of what sounded like a single shooter, likely a 9mm semi judging by the sound. But if the police found casings in the street and on the sidewalk, I guess the car occupants and the intended targets were both shooting. This was once a truly crappy neighborhood, and i hope it is not reverting. Single family 3 story town homes on very small subdivided lots sell quickly at $850-$950K. Who wants people shot in the street when he pays that kind of money for a home? (I didn't pay anywhere near this much for my condo, I was a bit ahead of full on gentrification.) And maybe I misdiagnosed the trends. I remember saying to my son, this is a can't miss setup unless crime turns up again.

I guess people occasionally get shot almost anywhere. But I lived for years in other very mediocre neighborhoods and had never before seen a man down. Another interesting thing was a guy who was walking along maybe 50 feet ahead of the hit man. This guy got down in a flash, he clearly had a rehearsed plan for the situation of some pop-pop-pops. I saw him out my bay window from my computer station.

Ha

 

[aja8888]

One of my closest friends is a retired 35 year sargent who worked Houston's streets all that time. He says no place is safe these days.

 

[imoldernu]

Come live in my town...
People are nice, and everyone says hello.

61354 Zip Code (Peru, Illinois) Profile - homes, apartments, schools, population, income, averages, housing, demographics, location, statistics, sex offenders, residents and real estate info

We DO have crime... this week there were two Friday night DUI's.

 

[Olbidness]

When seconds count, a cop is minutes away.

 

[Dawg52]

Scary. I hear people say all the time that my town has gone to crap. And we do have our share of shootings but it's everywhere. Luckily I have never seen or been close to an incident as Ha described. But I do keep my eyes open and avoid the worst areas.

 

[Teacher Terry]

That is really scary. At those real estate prices it should be safe. Hope it’s just a isolated incident.

 

[Breedlove]

Remember asking a friend a Harris county Sheriff if Houston was getting dangerous . He said if you put more apples in a barrel , you will get more bad ones .

 

[braumeister]

IMHO, you should be happy that such things are rare enough that you were shocked and motivated to post it here.

I've lived in places where such happenings are so routine that nobody even talks about them the next day.

 

[haha]

IMHO, you should be happy that such things are rare enough that you were shocked and motivated to post it here.

I've lived in places where such happenings are so routine that nobody even talks about them the next day.

True enough. There is street crime around, but mostly like 1-5 am. I have not before witnessed any of it, and I have been here or a few blocks away for close to 15 years.

I grew up very near where you live. Plenty of crime there then, but shootings of citizens were almost unknown. I think that entire area is pretty well gentrified now from what I hear.

Ha

 

[Walt34]

One of my closest friends is a retired 35 year sargent who worked Houston's streets all that time. He says no place is safe these days.

Where I worked as a police officer was one of the wealthiest areas of the country at the time and is still in the top ten. In March 1976 it had more murders than any other county in the country because of one guy killing his entire family (five murders) and two police officers being killed in a shootout with a bank robber.

So yes, wealth keeps out the worst of it but it can happen anywhere. And for a while there I was reconsidering my career choices.

 

[Texas Proud]

Wow... reminding me when I was young and living in apts... the crime from a few miles away was creeping into the area... someone was murdered across the street at a small bar... another time my friend saw someone breaking into his car and he went out... the guy was running away and then turned and shot at him... he said he turned sideways to try and become as skinny as possible...


A few miles away another friend owned a townhouse... he said he could hear automatic gun fire every few weeks...


I was glad when I moved out...

 

[Car-Guy]

One of my closest friends is a retired 35 year sargent who worked Houston's streets all that time. He says no place is safe these days.

Remember asking a friend a Harris county Sheriff if Houston was getting dangerous . He said if you put more apples in a barrel , you will get more bad ones .

I worked in downtown Houston for over 30 years. I personally never heard a gun shot myself while downtown (daytime) but when walking to lunch, I've seen plenty of spent shell casings on the ground. Seems 9mm's and 45ACP's were the guns of choice.

 

[travelover]

When seconds count, a cop is minutes away.

Yea, Ha should have whipped out his piece and started blasting away.

 

[Olbidness]

Yea, Ha should have whipped out his piece and started blasting away.

Yea, didn't suggest that.

 

[HFWR]

Yea, Ha should have whipped out his piece and started blasting away.

Nah, ducking was the better strategy!

 

[travelover]

Yea, didn't suggest that.

Thanks for clarifying.

 

[NW-Bound]

Nah, ducking was the better strategy!

Particularly when what you have is a six-shooter, and the other side a Glock (which can use a 33-round magazine).

 

[Beststash]

Don't come to Texas. Everyone here thinks they are Jesse James or Wyatt Earp. Damndest thing I have ever seen!

 

[Scrapr]

Mrs Scrapr would put the house up for sale at the first shot fired. She may or may not invite me to move with her

 

[Moemg]

I was next to two cars who were shooting at each other in New Jersey . I also saw a tire iron road rage there .It is getting crazy everywhere .

 

[MRG]

I remember a guy from Megacorp who was at a pharmacy after work. There was a robbery and the guy shot him in the head with a 25 ACP. He ran down Broadway in KCMO into a local bar. Passed out in the doorway, wasn't the first time he passed out there, first time cause he was shot. Luckily a 25 isn't much for penetration and he was a typical thick headed programmer type.

Stuff can happen anywhere.

 

[aja8888]

I worked in downtown Houston for over 30 years. I personally never heard a gun shot myself while downtown (daytime) but when walking to lunch, I've seen plenty of spent shell casings on the ground. Seems 9mm's and 45ACP's were the guns of choice.

I worked downtown Houston for years too. It's a different place during sunlight hours for sure. But, downtown is actually pretty deserted at night. The high crime areas are on the fringes. Now the outer suburbs are getting invaded (drug trade and theft).

 

[W2R]

Wow, Haha, I didn't expect the thread title to refer to gunshot sounds. Sorry that this happened so close to your home.

We have a lot of crime here in New Orleans, although nothing like that has happened nearby. I think that crime is the only thing that could get us to move away, and we are hoping that we can stay here.

Hopefully this incident is not indicative of an increase in crime in your neighborhood. Time will tell.

Meanwhile one thing to consider is the (maybe small) possibility of becoming a victim of "The Knockout Game" on your walks. I often caution F to be alert and observant on his walks since this has happened to some older men that we know and at least one eventually died as a result. Even if a senior is armed, just someone's age can cause others to regard him as a potential victim; and regardless of the outcome, I imagine an attempted attack like that could spoil a pleasant walk.

 

[scrabbler1]

I live in a safe area in Nassau County (LI), especially with the local police station maybe 50 yards away from my building.


But several years ago, a crazy man entered the church across the street from my building and shot a priest and some parishioners. He then ran out of the church through the side door and up the street to the house he rented a room from.


The side door happens to face my apartment. But on that day, even though I worked mainly from home that year, I had to report to my New Jersey office for my weekly visit. I did walk by the church's front entrance about 30 minutes before the shootings took place, as I was on my way to the train station.


When I got to my office a little more than an hour later, a coworker told me to check my local news because she believed something happened in my community. I went to their website and saw, to my huge surprise, an aerial view of the church and my apartment building! I read the breaking story about what had happened and wondered if I would be able to get back into my building that night because my street was blocked off as a crime scene.


I was able to get passed a local cop and go under the yellow crime scene tape upon showing sufficient ID that I lived on the blocked-off street. I learned from some neighbors more details about what had happened as it happened.


It might be the only time I was glad to have been at work in New Jersey instead of at home.

 

[Midpack]

So yes, wealth keeps out the worst of it but it can happen anywhere. And for a while there I was reconsidering my career choices.

Kinda what I assume. There are places that are much safer than others, but it can happen anywhere. And I can understand why the OP was alarmed. I live in a very safe area, but there have been a few murders over the past 25 years, though fortunately I’ve never seen anything at all - just read about it afterwards. In every case new me, it was people who knew each other, even family members.