little bitty girl

Last night as Stefan and I were settling into our current reads, we were disrupted by two loud bangs in the quiet night. The sound was actually quite strange, almost like a firecracker with a sharp clap at the end of it. I knew immediately that they were gunshots and so I leapt out of bed and flew to the window.

Sure enough, there was a young man lying on the street and people were streaming to help him. I asked Stefan whether I should call 911 but we could see everyone else's cellphones flash in the dark. It seemed to have been an incredibly long time before a police cruiser drove by. Since the street we live on is quite a busy one, it's not unusual for policemen to patrol the streets. What was unusual though, was when it did drive by, the car passed by the scene of the incident. For me, if there was an usual amount of people circling an unlikely spot (a parking lot), I would have been inclined to be curious. Luckily, a guy ran after the car and managed to get them to stop.

"A guy has been shot! In the leg!," he exclaimed. The police officer got out of the car and seriously m e a n d e r e d over. I swear I have seen Mama Kang (Queen of walking slow like molasses) move faster. I was just SO shocked at his reaction to the incident. Was he too fat to move? Was there some sort of procedure in some unwritten police code that states "You are forbidden to move quickly when someone has been hurt by a gunshot"? I don't know.

Certainly, I understand that these brave people risk their lives daily for us. However, it is a job. So I expect there must be some sort of criteria that goes with the job description. I guess the fact is, I have always had this childhood preconceived notion that if I was ever in trouble that Mr. Policeman would care, be there quickly and be my hero. Mind you, he did seem like he was talking to a witness on the way and radioing something in. Regardless, he was definitely in no hurry to get there. Anyway, all the emergency people showed up minutes later and, as far as I know, the young man has sustained no serious injury.

It's just shocking that this happened so close to my home. I understand that living in a large city has its added cons of violence but I just don't understand how it's come to this. I know it must be so frustrating for our police force since gun violence has seemed to have risen in the past five years. I don't get where all these guns are coming from, since we don't have the same laws as the US in regards to having the right to bear arms. I don't get how you can look at someone in the face and decide that you want to take their life from them. I really do think people who fight with guns are cowards. There is nothing brave or manly about using a weapon to prove your point.

Does this mean that I will move out of the city and into the suburbs? Does this mean that I will never venture out for a late night snack on my street?

No. I refuse to let these idiots dictate my life.

But I have to admit that I am still in shock.