Another One Bites the Dust...
Yes, friends, the dead pool is still in operation.
Fort Wayne has had it's 21st homicide.
(my count was predicted to be 25 vics...give or take)
This shooting (naturally) took place on Fort Wayne's SOUTHEAST SIDE.
(helluva way to garner "job security" for the police around here, but I suppose it does justify the budget for next year)
And in case you're wondering what went down, here's the *411* on it:
(( Fatal shooting on Lillie Street - Afternoon attack leaves unnamed victim dead.
{Rebecca S. Green The Journal Gazette}
Police are investigating a shooting death on Fort Wayne’s south side Wednesday afternoon.
A man in his early 20s died shortly after arriving at a hospital in critical condition. The man, whose name was not released Wednesday, had been rushed to the hospital from the 3300 block of Lillie Street. An autopsy is scheduled for today.
Fort Wayne police spokesman Michael Joyner said 911 operators received a call about multiple shots fired about 1:30 p.m.
When police and paramedics arrived, they found the man near the curb on the east side of Lillie suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.
Joyner said investigators believe the man was visiting family in the area and was shot near the sidewalk.
Multiple houses and vehicles in the area of the shooting were cordoned off while police and crime-scene technicians photographed a bullet hole in a nearby house.
Residents of the neighborhood congregated at the north and south ends of Lillie Street, talking to one another and on cell phones as police milled about the scene, which crossed the entire street.
Deputy Chief Nancy Chamberlin, in charge of the southeast sector, comforted the man’s family on the porch of a small brick house while investigators continued to question those nearby.
Police Chief Rusty York was talking with investigators as camera crews gathered behind the crime-scene tape.
A few U.S. marshals were present, but police officials said they were unsure why they were there.
Adrian Jones, a neighbor of the man’s cousins, said he was inside his home when he heard three quick gunshots, then heard someone scream.
Jones said he ran outside and saw the man, whom he had known for years, lying in the street. Jones said he was sure he was dead already because of the type of wounds he saw and the way the man was lying.
He said he was not sure who would want to harm the man.
The shooting remains under investigation by the Fort Wayne Police Department, Allen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Allen County Coroner’s Office.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 436-7867. ))
((Editor's Update - 1500 hrs: The victim was 24 year-old Jarvaris T. Jackson of Fort Wayne))
This was a bit too far north to be heard from our "fortress", but I was monitoring it on the radio, and the first officer on scene mentioned about having a homicide unit arrive and that assistance was required because "There's a crowd forming".
The victim was black, so it's relatively safe to conclude that the shooter is black also.
No one knows if the shooter was on foot, or in a vehicle, either.
I wish I DID have some information to provide, but the only thing I noticed in my area, was the same-old, same old at the usual problem houses.
No apparent change of routine with them.
Now one would think that by the looks of the houses on this street (which appear to be in good repair), that this is a serene street, and add to this, the rapidity of the way the crowd formed, a LOT of folks living there were not at any job, and therefore should have either HEARD or SAW something...
Well, that's what CONCERNED citizens do...police themselves.
I know I do it every day...out of necessity. You so much as blink some days, and these people are somewhere you don't want them to be, like in your garage or house, at the "all-you-can-swipe" buffet.
Now, I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but in recent years...that dog just ain't gonna hunt for me.
I even chatted with a black woman who used to live across the street. I bought into her story about "wanting" to do what was right for her kids (over coffee, no less...she didn't really like hazelnut - go figure). And I believed she was on the correct path.
Well, she took up with a drug dealer, and HIS cronies, much to my chagrin.
At least I didn't feel "played" like a dime store fiddle.
Her boyfriend (Brian Ladner) was last seen as a "guest" of the Allen County lockup on drug charges, and she moved away (probably to start the cycle over anew). Nice to know some things never change.
But that made me even more wary of those moving down here.
These days, it not so much "innocent until proven guilty", but more guilty until proven innocent, or is that guilty until PROVEN guilty.
Either way, in every case of every renter that has come into MY neighborhood (I'm a bit possessive, since I've lived here longer than ALL of these mooks put together), I have never, I repeat NEVER been wrong with my assessment OF that individual or "family".
I have called it correctly 100%!
And in some ways, although being correct never gets old, it still kinda creeps me out, because to be correct about those involved in dubious behavior all the time, living too damn close to you, is not a blessing in ANY sense, but rather a curse.
When you first see such people, you automatically KNOW what you can expect...and they prove you right time and again.
As I was growing up, my parents and pastors always preached to me about "pre-judging" people, and I always lived by that.
It's the whole "Judge not, that ye be not judged" gig.
(and I never DID like broken windows, if you get my drift)
Well, if anyone wants to judge me by what they first see, that's fine by me.
What they see will be what they get...plain and simple.
So, if I'm wrong by judging others first...I can live with as well.
See, it all comes down to being RIGHT.
If I draw a wrong conclusion, I'm the first one to say I WAS WRONG.
Then I review WHY I was wrong, and fix the problem.
Like I said...plain and simple.
I've always been a "people-watcher", but it was due to the fact that people are amazing creatures, in a myriad of ways.
You look back to history, and see the great achievements, and the not-so-great mistakes.
You read about the highs and the lows that humankind has walked along.
And you LEARN from such readings and teachings.
(at least you should)
So when I read about another shooting down here, it's no real surprise to me.
These type of people live to prey upon one another, and to be honest, I want nothing to do with that OR them in that regard.
I'm here to live MY life...do MY best...and always attempt to rise above all the pettiness, the "drama", and the bias.
Those living around me?
Not so much...!
In fact, they foster those things I despise, and would seek to draw anyone in by race-baiting, intimidation or blatant disrespect.
Well, since most of them have nothing better to do with their miserable lives, I suppose that's the best THEY can do.
Humankind is better than THAT, however...or should be.
Would I ever think twice about taking a life if MY life (or the wife's) hung in the balance?
Nope!
Would I shoot an intruder?
You bet your ass!
Would I be shooting someone with REASON, instead of using it as an excuse?
Definitely.
I'm one of those oddballs that believes that life MEANS something...every life.
And as long as that life is doing something productive, useful, or otherwise meaningful, it deserves to continue.
But there are those that value life so little, as to randomly take it from someone, anyone, for the dumbest thing.
Yet, these people never seem to comprehend this...or don't wish to (maybe too much like real work?), and that's THEIR problem...not mine.
This shooting might have been preventable, but when you have people with such blood-lust coursing through their veins, it's difficult at best to have them deviate from their upbringing.
It's like all these folks have caved into the "dark side of the Force".
And while I am human, and readily admit to such feelings myself from time to time (especially in THIS neighborhood), I CAN overcome them, and get myself back on track.
Does that make ME better than any of them?
No, it just makes more AWARE of WHO I AM, and provides me with a keener sense of what I NEED to do in my life, as opposed to what I WANT to do.
Your needs must always trump your desires...that's a given.
But your needs must never be achieved at the price of others.
And that especially goes for having one's "wants" met.
Just because you WANT something, doesn't give you ANY right to wrest it from another, and at any price.
That's what gets your ass in a sling REAL FAST.
When to stop and think about it, our NEEDS are actually very few in nature.
Make yourself a list of what you NEED to live your life...you'll be surprised at the brevity of that list.
It's our DESIRES...or "wants" that get us into trouble.
And, it's was causes things like SHOOTINGS on city streets in broad daylight.
See, it's NEVER a gun problem...it's just a PEOPLE problem.
Address THAT issue, and the rest will take care of itself.
Therein lies the lesson...for us all.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and... Stay safe out there, America.