The Fallout from Halloween...
Last evening (Halloween) was perfect...little noise, no beggars from disrespectful neighbors asking (read begging) for candy they don't deserve, and the DVD of Garfield's Halloween Adventure (1985), complete with freshly-nuked popcorn.
Didn't get much better than that.
For some people, last night was replete with more "less-than-sedate" activities than usual.
So today, we're gonna make this as short and as sweet as possible, covering just ONE story/topic, kapeesh?
*** Yes, we made it to November, but not without someone making a Halloween bash at an uptown nightclub called MOOKIE'S a bit more memorable than many people would have liked.
After the dust settled, the body count was ONE dead, and TWO in the hospital...!
Here's the story from local media sources.
(( 1 dead, 2 hurt after shooting at Mookie's Bar and Grill
Updated: Tuesday, 01 Nov 2011, 5:38 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 01 Nov 2011, 12:01 AM EDT
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Police are investigating a shooting at Mookie's Bar and Grill, 4104 N. Clinton Street, that killed one person and injured two others.
Officials said around 11:15 p.m. Monday, there was a complaint of loud music at the bar. An officer responded to the establishment and then heard gunshots from inside the building.
That officer described the next couple of minutes on the scene as complete chaos.
Britteny Sanders, 26, Fort Wayne, was listed in fair condition. Bakari Dean, 23, Fort Wayne, was listed in serious condition.
A third victim, initially listed in critical condition, died around 3 a.m. at a local hospital. His name is being withheld pending a cause of death from the Allen County Coroner.
Police said about 200 people were inside the bar when the shots were fired. Many of them ran outside.
There were numerous calls made to 911, including a girl who said she was hiding in the bathroom. Another call came from one of the people who had been shot.
Members of FWPD attempted to control the large crowd after the shooting. Investigators were trying to determine who were direct and indirect witnesses to the crime.
Officer Raquel Foster said witnesses were cooperating.
Police aren't sure if there was just one shooter or multiple people doing the shooting. They're also not sure of a motive. Suspect information was not immediately available.
Fort Wayne police were assisted by the Allen County Sheriff, Indiana State Police, and IPFW police. Off-duty officers in the area also responded to the scene.
Anyone with information about this investigation is encouraged to contact the City of Fort Wayne Police Department or Crime Stoppers at (260) 436-STOP. ))
Now we can safely say that this will be HOMICIDE # 18 for Allen County (and Fort Wayne), and while that pales in comparison to the OVER TWO HUNDRED homicides in Philly, it sets a sobering tone for a city which is one-tenth the size of the City of Brotherly Love.
One comment on the Facebook page for Mookie's stated:
"TOP YOUR HALLOWEEN OFF TONIGHT WITH US Mookie's Bar & Grill
IT WILL B A NIGHT TO REMEMBER!!! "
I'm SURE it was...for many, and especially for the family of ONE of the victims.
Here is a link to a 48 second video taken (don't worry, no graphic content):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLBEA4-5mvg
And to think we recently had a shooting in the parking lot of Piere's uptown as well...curious, is it not?
We can say that the response by law-enforcement was marvelous, with state, local and the sheriff's department arriving on scene.
Then again, there IS a reason for that...most ALL of them LIVE up there (rather than down here in the ghettohood, or anywhere close to it).
Mookie's is located a spit & a slide from the Glenbrook Mall, in case anyone is wondering.
I've never been to that club, nor wish to "visit".
(( Editor's Update - 1530 hrs - FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The Allen County Coroner has identified the person killed during a shooting Monday night at Mookie’s Bar and Grill. Justin Lanell Bush, 23, was originally transported to the hospital in critical condition. He died from his injuries at 1:56 a.m. Tuesday. ))
Maybe I'm too old for the "club-scene", but I did have my days, mostly in NJ (The Fountain Room, Oaklyn), and they had a great LIVE band, good drinks & food, and NEVER any fights in the parking lot (or inside).
I also went to a few places in Philly, too, and never saw ANY fights there, either.
Gee, 'ya think it was because maybe 30 years ago...we were ALL a bit more...(dare I say it?)...CIVIL towards one another?
Maybe we didn't pick fights because we were there to have a GOOD time, instead?
Yes, there is something to be said for those old "disco" days, in spite of that polyester look...lol.
Today, it makes you damn near cringe to see what passes for a nightclub these days.
Hell, I remember a place in Philly that had a PIANO PLAYER doing the old standards while you ate dinner.
And ,if my parents were alive, they could tell you places they went to that were even more "sedate" with a lot better atmosphere.
When you have to SHOUT your damn lungs out JUST to tell the bartender you want a refill on that scotch on the rocks, something's wrong.
But at least today, we have TEXTING to make THAT job easier, right?
We used to say that clubbing as a "release" from the doldrums of that 9-5 gig we pulled each week, and for the most part, we were right.
But that "release" didn't include shooting people (that's what the range was for) and causing a near riotous commotion.
During my first marriage, my wife and I went to several clubs...just on a whim, and I can say that after TEN minutes inside, I damn near had a migraine from the loud music, and the strobed-up lighting...
Hell, if I suffered from epilepsy, I'd have gone into a grand mal seizure straight away...it was that bad.
We never went clubbing after that.
We did attend local parties at friends' houses, and even they began to wear thin, with the predictable behavior exhibited by someone who always never knew their drinking limit. That always became the "buzz-kill" for me.
And, I've done a few Halloween parties in my day, too, but as with any party, you think about other people as much as, if not more than yourself.
I suppose that's part of the whole "maturation" thing...
You know YOUR limit, and since you're driving, you beg off the booze accordingly.
That's why I've become more the "home-body" these days...makes damn good sense, too, for a few reasons:
1) I don't have to worry about driving home.
2) The drinks are CHEAPER and more plentiful.
3) The music is stuff I prefer, and at a decent volume, too.
4) The bathroom smells MUCH better, even after 'ya toss your cookies
5) No one gets shot at MY parties (because I'm the ONLY guy with the gun)
6) People can actually CONVERSE at our house, and not have to shout
That's just the short list...and it works damn well.
Sadly, some people up at Mookie's made a bad choice last evening.
One paid the cover charge...IN FULL..
I said yesterday how WEIRD it has become "out there", and we're seeing the result from bad choices, not knowing one's limitations when it comes to mixing booze and anger (because happy, sober people don't tend to shoot other people), and allowing their "inner demon" to get the best of them.
We see it all too often in the ghettohood, but now, it's migrating into a lot more of the mainstream venues...with the predictable outcomes.
I'm sure Mookie's will reopen soon enough, just like Piere's...no matter HOW many times LEOs get sent there for whatever trouble arises.
It's a sign of our times, and one we could do without, in many cases.
Life is too short and precious to have it spilled all over onto some nightclub floor, or have it ooze away in a dirty parking lot.
Some people manage to learn a lesson BEFORE it hits too close to home...others learn the lesson the HARD way...and still more never even learn it at all. And that's the really tragic part to this.
It could all be avoided and you can still have a good time, but society has to make the change.
Halloween..."tricks or treats"...I'm sure there are some in this city that are weighing THAT phrase a lot more carefully this morning.
I'm positive last night was NOT anything close to what they were expecting.
I'd really like to see what the shooter has to say, when (and if) they are apprehended.
Be well, make a difference to someone today, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.