Wednesday, May 8, 2024

GROWTH PROBLEMS

 Awhile back, on the morning the Legado apartment project was torched and burned to the ground, I told you about a woman I met who was gazing at the damage as was I.

She said hotly that she didn't feel sorry for the developers because the 5-story project was "too big for our small town."

I gently responded that it wasn't a small town anymore.

We had another reminder of that last night, much closer to us.

After reading an email Judy had sent I told her I thought it would be right for my blog and she consented.

So here it is.

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Last evening we had both retired to our rooms and were reading in bed.  Suddenly there were four or five very loud bangs outside the house.  I wondered if our neighbors were setting off fireworks.  Bruce thought someone was banging on our front door.

In less than five minutes the neighborhood was lit up by cop cars with all lights flashing.  Across the street all the residents of one side of a duplex were outside in the yard.  Soon there were too many cops to count milling around and flashing their very bright flashlights in every direction.

Then out came traffic cones draped with crime scene yellow tape . . . IN OUR DRIVEWAY!  The yellow tape was wrapped around the tree in our front yard in addition to the traffic cones.  A floodlight from one of the police vehicles was aimed at our home.

Bruce got dressed and went out front to try and discover something from the cops about what was going on.  No info there at first.

Finally it was determined that there had been a drive-by shooting, with the duplex residents straight across from us as targets. No one was hit.  The little girl who lives there was pacing and crying.  Now and then someone would embrace her.  She grabbed her little bicycle and started to ride it but was told to put it away.

The police found shell casings in our driveway.  They also found tire tracks and a female detective asked if they were from our car or not.  When Bruce didn't know because our car does leave tracks she asked to photograph the tires.  He opened the garage door and she took her pictures.

She also told him they'd be there for an hour or two and apologized for the upset.

We finally got so tired of the whole experience that we decided to go back to bed at about 10:45.

This morning all is clear.

Welcome to the neighborhood.

------by Judith Taylor

22 comments:

  1. That is upsetting to say the least. Hopefully the police will be patrolling your street for a while.

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  2. So sorry. That poor little girl. It can happen anywhere.

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  3. Omg! I can't even imagine such a thing. I wonder who was pounding on your door!

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  4. As LL said it can happen anywhere..but why does it have to happen atall?

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  5. Are you sure you didn't move back to Phoenix the night before? That kind of crap is so scary.

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  6. As you said, no place is safe any longer.

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  7. tc-Light/Breezes---Sorry to hear this. Judy's journalistic chops are great.

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    1. Yes, I keep telling her, she's a much better writer than I am.

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  8. that's very alarming to have gun fire in the neighborhood and on your property. . Good that you are both safe and well.

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  9. That's terrifying! We read about these kinds of events but it's always "somewhere else."

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  10. That is terrifying. We don't have shootings here, but I am quite used to seeing police cars and ambulances with flashing lights. I have personally given up on calling the police to neighbour fights though, I figure I might as well let them kill each other and then I'll get some peace and quiet. You'd think they'd know better at their age, the tenant and his visiting trouble-maker brother are both older than me yet they brawl like drunken teenagers over alcohol, drugs and money.

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  11. Wow!! How scary and worrisome. Stay safe.

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  12. thecontemplativecat here How scary is that!! Will you get the story from the police?

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  13. Wow! Gunfire is not uncommon where we live, but it's hunters, not violence. Still, it can happen anywhere. A couple weeks ago, about 5 miles from us someone's pit bulls got loose and killed about 30 pigs and hogs. Violence of a different sort. Of course, the dogs belonged to the resident druggie on that road.
    I am sorry this happened in your otherwise peaceful neighborhood, Bruce. And that poor little girl. Heartbreaking.

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  14. Oh my goodness, I am glad you are both safe and so sorry to hear this happened.

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  15. Wow! The day we have two rounds of tornadoes that interrupt my internet, and I miss this excitement! I'm glad we only had a naked man on the porch of our flip house.

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