This was my front yard when I got up Sunday morning. Yep, that’s crime scene tape tied to my tree. I could see a police car just down the street and an officer standing there talking to someone.
As soon as I got dressed I headed out the door to find out what had happened and immediately encountered my next-door neighbor. He said shots had been fired during the night and his wife had called the police.
I’ll spare you all the conjecture and conflicting reports I read on NextDoor. Police reports said two male friends, 18 and 21, were sitting in a car talking. An unidentified car came by and someone shot at them before speeding away. The shooter remains at large. The 18-year-old is in the hospital in critical condition. His friend did not survive.
A neighbor’s security cam recorded the sound of the shots, and some 30 shell casings were later found in the street.
All that took place just three doors down — and I basically slept through the whole thing. How, I don’t know. It happened at 1:15 am and I went to bed 30-45 minutes before that. I think I sort of woke up to an odd loud sound, but hearing nothing else, immediately went back to sleep.
That doesn’t explain why I didn’t hear police and ambulance sirens; maybe they came in quietly. One thing I do know is that there’s nothing wrong with my hearing. I guess I’m just a deep sleeper.
Here’s a photo from the media:
Anyone know what those white globe things are?* Maybe lights for an investigation that started in the dark?
The police finally took down their tape and left around 2 pm. I’ve seen no additional information other than that the investigation continues.
And that’s all I know. We got some good rain that evening and now it’s as though nothing ever happened — except that tragedy struck two families that night.
A local news report:
P.S. I forgot to mention that I received two Code Red messages that night, one just after the shooting saying to stay indoors until further notice and a second one, about four hours later, giving the all-clear. I didn’t see them until I woke up. Code Red, if you don’t have it in your city, is a way for emergency services to send messages to citizens, sort of like a reverse 911. I turn my phone off at night, allowing only calls and texts from family members to come through. I’ve now changed my settings to allow Code Red calls also.
Update, Sept 17: Just found an update posted on NextDoor three days ago. The shooters, juveniles, were caught. They were from Aurora, a minimum of 20 miles from here on the far side of Denver. The black Jeep they were driving was the second car they had stolen that night.
I don’t know how reliable NextDoor posts are, but that’s the only news I’ve seen since the shooting occurred. Typical of the media to report the crime but not the resolution.
*Update, Sept 20: I found an explanation for those white globes at the crime scene. They are relatively new technology. They scan the crime scene and feed the scans into a computer that combines the images into a detailed 3-D image of the scene. I found the explanation here: https://kutv.com/news/local/good-question-what39s-with-the-white-balls-at-crime-scenes
How sad that we live hand in hand with such violence. Remembering the planes in 2001, and now guns in your own neighborhood without waking you up…and violent death is happening everywhere. When I think twice about it I become more determined that this has to change.
It does feel sort of like as a nation we are starting to circle the drain. I hope I live long enough to see things improve.
I’m guessing that the white globe things may have something to do with being a laser pointer to determine the bullet trajectory????
Beats me. That’s as good an idea as anything I can think of.
So tragic!
It really is. I’ve seen nothing about a motive. Somebody on NextDoor said a black Jeep Commander was chasing the other car (this is a through street, often used by nonresidents to avoid a congested intersection with stoplights). But the police reports and media said nothing about a chase or a Jeep.
That’s certainly too close for comfort. I’m also hoping I live to see improvement. There’s just so much to set right even if our government were to return to sanity.
Sanity would be a good place to start. And a return to bipartisanship would certainly help. We’ll need all hands on deck to deal with the problems we’re facing.
Considering over 30 shots fired, you are lucky a stray bullet didn’t hit your house. I wonder if any other houses were hit? This highlights how the technology has changed since the 2nd Amendment was enacted. The internet says a musket can be fired (by an expert) once every 15 seconds. I’m guessing 30 in that time by a modern automatic pistol.
Given the way it happened, I think the shots were aimed away from my house (my bedroom is on the back). And there are two other houses between the scene and my house. Scuttlebutt on NextDoor said someone’s front door was hit. Someone else said it sounded like an automatic weapon. Not sure I’d recognize it, but someone’s security cam recorded the sound.
Well, it’s finally arrived at your doorstep, too. This is scary.
The police here routinely use people’s ring door bell/security footage in attempts to try and identify criminals and to try and figure out what happened.
Life has changed. Insanity intrudes.
The potential of drive bys and random shootings on the roadways terrify me. We have made adjustments in the way we live, shop, travel.
There’s a whole group of usually young people who see no reason to control impulses/violent explosive emotions, or seem concerned at all about killing anyone. These animals do not understand how far bullets can travel and how many people they endanger. And they are terrible shots with their stolen guns.
(“I wasn’t aiming at him. I was aiming at that guy.”…seriously said to a judge here) NOTHING seems to deter these predators. (Not NRA members or licensed, trained, and law abiding gun owners)
Let’s see few days here recently…
9 yr old shot as car drove by (gang related – he was not target, they are just terrible shots, collateral damage for them)
A group carjacked a man getting gas, the car ran 2 blocks before running out of gas, the got out, found a priest getting ready for church and robbed him, beat him and tried to shoot him but the gun to his head jammed twice (a miracle?) and one of them decided time to leave and carjack another woman…
Cop was shot 4 times (alive and better now) catching car jacking group. Luckily backup arrived and shot the shooter (as he aimed and shot at them) who it turned out was out on personal recognizance release from being arrested for a car jacking and assault with a gun the previous week. Thank you, judge and city council members who demand no bail required for release if the suspect is too poor to pay.(Two others arrested; one still on run.)
If the courts, social workers, and lawyers let criminals be held in jail, it might make the rest of us feel safer.
Two women closing up one of the few remaining drive-ins a night ago noticed 2 young men wearing masks lurking by the concession stand wearing masks. They went to investigate resulting in one woman being hit multiple times with a baseball bat.
Those ankle monitors judges mandate are easily cut off – and constantly are…so the parolee/one waiting trial can go back out being a predator on the street.
These predators fear nothing. They work the system to get free (whine, cry, “voices told me”), they are excused time and time again. They do not fear hell or damnation or any god or dishonoring their family name. They do not fear being shunned by decent people. They do not fear jail or the law (Going to jail is a badge of honor – and they get to work out and lean new tricks) They do not fear losing citizen rights – like voting (who votes?) or difficulty getting a job (” who works?”). They do not fear the death penalty- they know few are sentenced to that and even if they are, it takes 17-22 years to get all the appeals done(in this state) – and “a lot can happened in that time”.
Laws aren’t stopping any of them.
(Of course I live in one of the largest city here, so we’ve been seeing this for some time)
Not looking promising. Maybe stop glorifying thugs and criminal lifestyle and behavior? Throttle back on the reality shows about prison life? Celebrities and elected officials have their body guards, but the rest of us?
The white globes may be part of a GPS system to define exact spot and area using satellites?
Take care. It’s a mad, mad, mad world.
I’m as careful as I can be, but it can and does happen anywhere. You aren’t even safe in your own home — see several instances of people being killed in their homes by stray bullets coming through the walls or windows. Driving anywhere is risky; you never know what the person in the next car might do. With so many guns in circulation and so much road rage … Better mental health care? Balderdash. Anyone can lose their temper and act impulsively. How is focusing on mental health going to stop that if there’s already a gun within reach? I think I cheered out loud the other night when Beto said “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AK-47s, your AR-15s …” or something like that. He was angry about his city being shot up. But I think he voiced the feelings of a great majority of Americans. We shouldn’t have to live in fear. Our kids shouldn’t be having shooter drills in school. We’re raising a generation to whom shootings are an everyday thing. A no big deal thing. A shrug of the shoulders thing. I’m just aghast at what America is becoming. And I don’t see how it’s going to turn around …
Definitely agree with the last part.
A logical first step is courts and authorities enforcing the laws. Even our own police chief was on this morning saying we arrest them and this new program of recog. release if the person says they can’t make any bail is putting criminals back on the streets faster than the police can complete reports.
There’s been a rash of machete, knife, and baseball bat ( along with cars) being used here.
As you say the anger ( and spoiled temper tantrums…like “the girl I battered left me so I’ll hide and kill her in her parent’s backyard” yesterday or “I don’t care if she converted, according to our faith, the shame of her actions can only be addressed in one way and we do not recognize this countries laws because of freedom of religion” – multiple family members on trial)
That mom of the El Paso Shooter knew he was unbalanced and unsafe, called police but never said “danger to himself and others” only “is it legal as he is immature..” As many she did not want to make her child mad at her or insist he get help. In this state parents and family members can force mental evaluation/involuntary mental health holds and have authorities come pick them up IF they want to, if they are serious about protecting others in society. Families must step up and stop being worried what the neighbors will think. The unstable person cannot “could behave if he wanted to” as we heard from one relative (now drugged to submission but society is safe). Lives could be saved – the past shootings could have been prevented.
We are all frustrated and outraged.
The system has let us down. The general public is at risk. Criminals do not care if they break the laws. Drug cartels do not care about the laws (Beto would be the first to tell you how many incidents there are of gunfire across the border into areas with schools, shopping malls, sidewalks – and the number of car chases between the Federales and drug cartel member shooting at each other all the way across the border bridges and through the “entry points and down El Paso streets. There are even MX helicopters flying in attempting to get into a couple of cartel bosses compounds/homes in the US with wives and children there. No. People don’t want to see reality. Have friends who bargain sold a lovely house on a bluff in El Paso – beautiful , but the violence there was too bad and they worried about their kids. Beto does have an AR. He hunts. From money and married money. But he does have every right to be angry – as do us all)
Laws must be enforced quickly and with strength.
Dangerous people must be isolated and society protected.
Your last few sentence is echoed!
But as those in Venezuela(who gave up their gun when the government promised violence would be eliminated), Hong Kong (who is singing our anthem and quoting our Constitution), China (with the new Social Credit System controlling your every move), Mexico (citizens do not own guns – only the army and the drug cartels who really run things. More murders than ever before.), and my friends from Russia (who fled oppressive government controlling everything) – big picture- those who have the guns make the rules – not “the little people”
Ditto to your last 2 sentences.
Enforcing the laws. So obvious. So basic. And yet here in Colo. more than half our county sheriffs immediately announced that they would not enforce the new Red Flag law because, they said, it’s unconstitutional. Since when is that determination part of their job description!? Who made them lawyers and judges? I get apoplectic just thinking about it. All the new gun control laws in the world won’t matter if the police won’t enforce them.
Here the chief of police said they wouldn’t be investigating or responding to home burglaries as they were busy. So…
Victim groups need to start publishing the elected judges that are repeatedly allowing criminals to return to the street even if the miss mandated court dates (for pending trials/offenses for example.)
Police officers MUST secure their guns in their cars/homes so those stop getting stolen ( it’s appalling how many have their guns stolen).
Laws must be enforced.
Society only works when ALL agree to follow the laws…not just the honest law abiding citizens.
Gonna be a rough ride until then
Jeez, what a trophy for the bad guys. A cop’s gun. Bragging rights. Street cred.
Citizens get can get fined big time for not securing a gun (new law a few years ago), but a cop? Yeah…..
You know what is weird? Someone mentioned that assault weapons had been banned under Clinton – and now I remember it. The ban expired.
Here’s some about the whole thing. Thought you might find it interesting, too – I had forgotten all about it. (So confused. What’s all the noise – isn’t this a pattern/precedent?)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assault_Weapons_Ban
How soon we forget…and everyone can’t blame it on aging. HaHa
(PS. the dude that texted Beto that stupid remark is an idiot according to many…maybe the two involved deserve each other)
Oh I remember the assault weapons ban. I was really angry when it went away. I forget if it sunsetted or if Congress deliberately rescinded it. Probably the latter. It’s insanity to allow them. No civilian “needs” an assault weapon. It may be fun to own one, but it certainly isn’t necessary.
Just read your link and see that the law sunsetted. Why put a sunset date on a law like that? More craziness.
Odd politicians are not noting this – and why did it lapse…lack of interest?
(vaguely remember a slight mention on news of how it was ending…Nobody seemed to care at the time. Odd.)
Why is the former ban not being talked about? For what purpose? Politics? Photo ops? (Part of the concern by some seems to be the refusal by elected officials and those seeking office to specifically say what exactly will be illegal – which characteristics/specs will be banned. People are uneasy when people talk vaguely…and then there’s Biden’s foolish remark concerning multiple magazines – about only needing one bullet to stop someone breaking into your home…he must be a better shot than most legal gun owners and much better than those criminals with stolen/blackmarket guns…or his body guards are – wait, they will be “special and protecting elites”/exempt from regulations, no doubt. (Biden, please, you are the most sane of the bunch, but please retire. Save yourself.You don’t need this.)
As you say, more craziness
Ye gods! I’m so sorry you had to deal with that! Glad you are okay. Wow. How hellish.
It’s almost surreal that it happened in the sort of quiet suburban neighborhood I’ve always lived in. We’ve heard nothing new about an investigation; it’s almost as though it never happened. Except it did. I feel sorry for the homeowner right on the corner where it happened; he/she had just put their lovely home on the market. But if it’s like other suburban shootings in the last few years, only people directly involved or affected will remember it happened, much less exactly where it happened.
I noticed yesterday that the For Sale sign in front of that house is gone. I don’t know if they sold it or just took it off the market until this story is forgotten.
They got ’em! See update at end of story.