Shot?
Yeah. Thanks to a late-night of ruckus, I missed directly witnessing the 11:15 a.m. shooting on Columbia Road in Adams Morgan. I did, however, catch the aftermath around 12:15 p.m. and I think I might be in the background of a Channel 9 news report, or at least my head might.
Can you spot the local celebrity?
Channel 9...Unfortunately, Topper Shutt was not on the scene.
Apparently, after a short scuffle, a dude shot another dude in the leg, hitting an artery, in front of the Radio Shack. The gunman fled while the victim began to bleed profusely. Witnesses tried to call 9-1-1, but couldn't get through, so they physically ran to a nearby fire station and fetched the one police cruiser that sits on 18th Street watching for jaywalkers.
In the meantime, though, since DC's infrastructure failed, something quite amazing happened -- MOB JUSTICE!
According to people on the scene, as one witness tended to the man's wounds by making a tourniquet out of other witnesses' T-shirts, several other people with sticks (where they got those in Adams Morgan, I'm rather perplexed about) ran after the shooter, eventually stopping him on 18th a couple of blocks away.
That is f*cking solid!
Yet it is also f*cking sad.
I'm extremely pleased to know that DC's citizens are ballsy enough to take justice in their own hands and chase down a man wielding a gun (who is clearly not afraid to use it) with nothing but fricking sticks. That's solid.
However, the fact that mob justice is necessary to catch criminals here, rather than the presumed professionals who get a salary to solve such crimes, is extremely disheartening. I mean, don't get me wrong, mob justice is pretty sweet and all, but having a functional police force and a means to call them in case of an emergency (i.e. a working 9-1-1 infrastructure) would probably be a little sweeter. Just a thought...
Well, here's to one more day of not getting capped! Good luck!
*UPDATE! It turns out the dude who helped me pick out my bike lock at the bike shop, Tripp, was the good samaritan who triaged the shooting victim! (However, I'm going to return it because I found it online for about $25 less. Sorry City Bikes, but your mark-ups are unreasonable.)*
12 comments:
Oh heavens, I hope the victim ends up being okay, and I'm very glad you weren't hurt. The scariest thing I've seen since I moved here was me almost getting mugged on 15th Street on a Sunday afternoon.
Welcome to America.
Jeepers!
A few years back, Minneapolis earned the nickname Murderapolis, but things have cooled off a bit. Since I'm not working Downtown anymore I don't get to experience the shenanigans so much.
Well, I'm glad you managed to run late for the bang, plus glad you'll be locking up your bike on the cheap(er).
is that Uniform Division Secret Service as the two white shirted police officers?
It looks like the DC Council guy is the one getting locked up by the way he has his hands. haha.
Did you not have a lock before or something?
I bet Strunk & White were in the mob. Those fuckers are tough!
mjj--
The victim is stable, apparently. And "almost mugged?" Did you fight back?
dave--
I don't know if this is a U.S.-wide type of event or simply one of the charms of the Capital of the Free World.
caphill--
All I know is that Caruso and his one-liners were not on the scene. I shed a single tear for that.
i-66--
I store it in my apartment and my office, so no lock is usually necessary. But I'd like to be able to ride dirty somewhere and park it on the streetz. Yeah, I like that "z."
anon--
I love your love for Strunk & White. You're right. Those bitches are badass.
Baguette deserves security.
I think after you've been in the city for a while, everyone's pretty much at least seen some freshly spattered blood on the pavement. I myself saw a corpse underneath an apartment building on Connecticut- not sure if he jumped or was murdered, but either way, it was messy.
And HELL YEAH for the people chasing that asshat down! Although it sort of just shows how hardened we are...
To make a long story short, I had some time to kill while waiting for our bus to pick us up for the return trip from National Aqarium to apartment complex. I wander up to Cosi on 15th and K. After eating I go back towards the bus pickup (I forget the street to tell you the truth) and some dude's looking at me like he wants to kick my ass for no apparent reason. I look back since I looked in all directions before crossing the street, he happened to be walking towards me.
I have no clue what's he gonna do but get near my face and starts say "WTF bitch, F U, why are you doing this to me." It's obvious that he's wandering, looking for cash, so I finally say in a get lost manner, "because I don't have any money!" He continued with the "F U bitch, I'm gonna kick your ass, you bitch, F U" for bout two minutes before he finally went his separate way. I turned my back to him before realizing I better walk backwards to make sure I'm facing him should he come towards me again. I seriously thought he was going to pull something out and mug me. Fortunately, I didn't have to fight back. I had just moved to DC six weeks earlier. Woke me up real quick.
ya gotta support the local bike store! dude just triaged a shooting victim AND gave you free advice on the lock.
but the stick part is totally boss.
anon--
Well..."free advice" -- that is his job.
But luckily for City Bikes, I needed to use my lock the other day in a pinch, so I can't return it now. Plus, you're right. He did possibly save someone's life. My cold capitalist heart will let this one slide... :)
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