My 'hood, that is.
Three times in the last three weeks I've heard gun shots. Always just two shots - bang (pause) - bang.
Thursday night I called 911 and reported it. Police came, said they checked around, talked to people out and about (at 1:30 in the morning?) who said they didn't hear anything, so of course the police doubted me and I felt pretty dumb.
Saturday night, again, two shots. I didn't call it in.
However, someone else did, and this time, they seemed to take it more seriously. About 10 patrol cars turned up, and this time they found the bullet casings.
Again, it was just two shots.
Tonight I slipped out to the corner shop after 10 p.m. and on my way back home, walked past a guy who was holding a gun in his hand, partially concealed by the sleeve of his hoodie, but showing enough of the barrel so that it was unmistakable as to what it was.
I was in the police station earlier today asking whether I should call if I see or hear anything suspicious, having felt after Thursday's sceptical reception by the patrol officers - they hadn't even bothered to take my name or other information - that I shouldn't bother, to save myself embarrassment. After I saw gun-holding guy, I waited about 7 minutes before I decided I should call.
What police told me this afternoon was that there was a turf war going on and the two shots were scare tactics against dealers the local lads didn't want encroaching on their territory.
This used to be a pretty clean neighbourhood. However, last year, the city, in its infinite lack of wisdom, decided to handle the problems occurring at a notorious low-income housing project in the city ("Regent Park") by demolishing the project and put in big ticket condos in their stead, and by distributing the ousted residents amongst other city housing projects, and decided the best place to put them was in the four projects in my neighbourhood.
Ever since the Regent Park transfers got here, things have been going from okay to bad and from bad to worse. The local residents protested about the dumping of the Regent Park problems on us, but the city housing authority didn't give a rat's ass about the problems they were going to create - they just wanted the problem out of Regent Park so that the folks paying half a million dollars for the condos going up there would feel safe.
I can't believe I saw this individual openly walking around with a gun his hand, bold as brass, like he owned the place.
I'm not going out after dark any more, I can tell you.
There's not much scares me, but this does.
Three times in the last three weeks I've heard gun shots. Always just two shots - bang (pause) - bang.
Thursday night I called 911 and reported it. Police came, said they checked around, talked to people out and about (at 1:30 in the morning?) who said they didn't hear anything, so of course the police doubted me and I felt pretty dumb.
Saturday night, again, two shots. I didn't call it in.
However, someone else did, and this time, they seemed to take it more seriously. About 10 patrol cars turned up, and this time they found the bullet casings.
Again, it was just two shots.
Tonight I slipped out to the corner shop after 10 p.m. and on my way back home, walked past a guy who was holding a gun in his hand, partially concealed by the sleeve of his hoodie, but showing enough of the barrel so that it was unmistakable as to what it was.
I was in the police station earlier today asking whether I should call if I see or hear anything suspicious, having felt after Thursday's sceptical reception by the patrol officers - they hadn't even bothered to take my name or other information - that I shouldn't bother, to save myself embarrassment. After I saw gun-holding guy, I waited about 7 minutes before I decided I should call.
What police told me this afternoon was that there was a turf war going on and the two shots were scare tactics against dealers the local lads didn't want encroaching on their territory.
This used to be a pretty clean neighbourhood. However, last year, the city, in its infinite lack of wisdom, decided to handle the problems occurring at a notorious low-income housing project in the city ("Regent Park") by demolishing the project and put in big ticket condos in their stead, and by distributing the ousted residents amongst other city housing projects, and decided the best place to put them was in the four projects in my neighbourhood.
Ever since the Regent Park transfers got here, things have been going from okay to bad and from bad to worse. The local residents protested about the dumping of the Regent Park problems on us, but the city housing authority didn't give a rat's ass about the problems they were going to create - they just wanted the problem out of Regent Park so that the folks paying half a million dollars for the condos going up there would feel safe.
I can't believe I saw this individual openly walking around with a gun his hand, bold as brass, like he owned the place.
I'm not going out after dark any more, I can tell you.
There's not much scares me, but this does.
