mellowtigger (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mellowtigger) wrote2021-03-09 05:24 pm
mellowtigger) wrote2021-03-09 05:24 pm
Entry tags:
not a good week in Minneapolis
I woke up this morning, walked downstairs, passed my computer desk, and I noticed the full glass of water sitting there that I was intending to take to bedside with me last night. That was before the gunshots.
I was at the kitchen sink last night, filling the glass of water after 11pm, ready to head upstairs to get some sleep. Through the kitchen window I saw someone with a flashlight in the alley behind my house, walking in the direction of the crack house. "That can't be good," I thought to myself. I intended to go to the upstairs window where it's safer to look outside from a dark room. I didn't even get to the stairs before the 6 bullets were fired. I set down my drink at the computer desk, avoided walking on the cat who was now scrambling to hide, ran upstairs to the bathtub (the only bulletproof part of my house), called 911 and reported the incident. The dispatch said that Shotspotter also activated, and an officer was on their way to investigate. About 3 minutes later, I saw the cop car with searchlight drive slowly down the alley.
This morning with the sun up, I walked in the alley behind my house. It didn't take me long to spot the bullet casings. The first one was on the concrete of the alley itself, and the other 5 were on the dirt nearby, on the property for the house behind mine. I called the non-emergency number for the police, and within 30 minutes a police car arrived with 2 officers who collected all of the casings. And that was the start of my workday here in the #WarzoneInMinneapolis.
The violence has been escalating locally. It seems worse than last year, and 2020 was the worst year at my house thus far. A smartphone app called "Citizen" is supposed to show me events within about 1 mile of my house, but even that proximity makes for a long list. There are the usual frequent gunshots, plus there are knives, arson, and vehicles-as-weapons.
Here's the screenshot on my smartphone a few minutes after I called 911 last night, before my incident made it onto their list.
I don't think this violence has anything to do with the Derek Chauvin trial, which is its own special event for Minneapolis.
I was at the kitchen sink last night, filling the glass of water after 11pm, ready to head upstairs to get some sleep. Through the kitchen window I saw someone with a flashlight in the alley behind my house, walking in the direction of the crack house. "That can't be good," I thought to myself. I intended to go to the upstairs window where it's safer to look outside from a dark room. I didn't even get to the stairs before the 6 bullets were fired. I set down my drink at the computer desk, avoided walking on the cat who was now scrambling to hide, ran upstairs to the bathtub (the only bulletproof part of my house), called 911 and reported the incident. The dispatch said that Shotspotter also activated, and an officer was on their way to investigate. About 3 minutes later, I saw the cop car with searchlight drive slowly down the alley.
This morning with the sun up, I walked in the alley behind my house. It didn't take me long to spot the bullet casings. The first one was on the concrete of the alley itself, and the other 5 were on the dirt nearby, on the property for the house behind mine. I called the non-emergency number for the police, and within 30 minutes a police car arrived with 2 officers who collected all of the casings. And that was the start of my workday here in the #WarzoneInMinneapolis.
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The violence has been escalating locally. It seems worse than last year, and 2020 was the worst year at my house thus far. A smartphone app called "Citizen" is supposed to show me events within about 1 mile of my house, but even that proximity makes for a long list. There are the usual frequent gunshots, plus there are knives, arson, and vehicles-as-weapons.Here's the screenshot on my smartphone a few minutes after I called 911 last night, before my incident made it onto their list.
I don't think this violence has anything to do with the Derek Chauvin trial, which is its own special event for Minneapolis.
I think the previous economic hardships are still taking their harsh toll, and the pandemic economy hit even harder. I don't sense a lot of hope for the future from the neighborhood. Granted, I haven't exactly been out much, and I don't really chat with neighbors even on a good day. It's just a general sense that people are wondering...
"How bad will it have to get before things actually change?"
It's not just me being pessimistic, either. A local student wrote an opinion piece in the local newspaper that made a big splash.
https://www.startribune.com/i-live-in-a-cemetery-called-north-minneapolis/600029485/
Thankfully, some people have enough money to spare to help send him to college to further that writing skill.