Crime

“Dear PoPville,

I thought I’d write you to express my disgust with a HIT AND RUN Driver, as well as the fact that NO PEOPLE came to the aid of my good friend and her 11 month old son who were hit this morning at the corner of 14th & L Sts NW at approx. 7:45am.

NOTE: Mom is an especially cautious jogger when her son is in tow. She pays careful attention to all cars, especially when she’s crossing the street.

Mom had the right of way and was crossing through the intersection of 14th and L Sts NW, headed East on L St., when suddenly she found herself on the ground, and the stroller with her son inside doing a somersault in the street. The front wheel was gone, and a 2nd tire also flew off. She’d been clipped by a car as it tried to turn south onto 14th St, not paying any attention to her. The car did NOT stop. Mom landed on the ground with a cut knee, and immediately jumped up to check on her son who was silent. She was terrified that he’d hit his head. Thankfully, the baby was just fine. His silence likely because he was stunned and thrown upside down.

But then, even more incomprehensible is that NO ONE came to her aid. No one helped pick her and her son off the middle of the street in a major intersection. And No one even called 911! The Mom was the one who called 911, terrified that something happened to her son.

At 7:53am, Mom called me saying that she’d been in an accident, and could I please come to the location ASAP. I arrived as quickly as possible, and she and her son were already sitting in the back of an ambulance getting checked out. When I saw the condition of the stroller, I was in shock. The U bar of the front wheel was bent. The wheel was obviously off, as was another rear wheel. But thankfully, Baby was totally fine. In fact, he was laughing when I arrived. His Mom was obviously in shock over the accident, as was I – the godmother, but ever so thankful that the strength of the BOB stroller saved the Baby’s life!

So I ask PoPville: Did anyone witness this accident today? Did anyone see a car clip a jogging stroller at 14th and L Sts around 7:45am??? Please help to restore our faith in humanity.”

Crime tape remnant in alley of 4100 block of 4th St, NW between Upshur and Taylor and 3rd Street

It gives me no pleasure to write this but ignoring it as so many do is not helpful either. On Friday night stray bullets hit a row house window in Petworth and the lobby of an apartment building in NoMa. In Petworth it occurred Friday night just after 10pm in the alley between 3rd and 4th St, NW and Upshur and Taylor. It was a miracle that nobody was injured.

Bullet hole in back bedroom window

In NoMa a reader reports:

“Friday night at 11:15 a stray bullet hit the lobby window of 2M St in Noma. The bullet did not puncture through the window and no one was hurt.”

Also a miracle.

Bullet hole at 2 M Street, NE

And don’t forget about the apartment building that got hit in SW Waterfront back in February.

I spoke with a friend of mine recently who said “well what are the odds of someone actually getting hit?”. I don’t think that this a healthy reaction. In 2004 an 8 year old girl was hit by a stray bullet while she was sitting on her porch. Thank God she lived. There was a huge response after that incident. Most people don’t remember it now. When bullets go into homes and buildings and don’t hit anyone – in my opinion this is just as terrifying as if someone was hit. Because someone easily could have been. Where is the outrage? How seriously are our leaders taking this? Why is nobody talking about this? We don’t need to debate statistics. This is reality.

It’s true gunfire and violence are not common everywhere in the District. It has occurred recently in NoMa, Petworth, Eckington, Brightood, Bloomingdale, Takoma, Edgewood, Brookland, SW Watefront, East of the River SE, Hill East, Trinidad, H Street, NE, Carver Langston, U Street, Capitol Hill, Shaw, Park View, Downtown, Columbia Heights… With the amount of gunfire that goes on in this city – I feel like we are living the wild freaking west. There is a crisis. Let’s not break our arms patting ourselves on the back as we celebrate our successes as a city. And the city has achieved a ton. It’s amazing. But those successes, while great, do not replace the fact that our homes and city are being shot up.

Now let me just say – I’m not a hysterical person. I’ve lived in DC for almost 20 years and in Petworth for over 12. I’ve seen a lot. I don’t curl up in a ball and hide in my house. I also can’t ignore what’s happening. I don’t want to play the odds with something like this. I’m not saying I have the answers either. I’m just saying I’d like the powers that be (with the exception of Council Member Anita Bonds who has hosted some meetings) to also recognize and acknowledge the seriousness of the situation. And that something needs to be done about it. I should say show me something serious and sustained not just temporary pandering. When an innocent person does get hit by gunfire and all the camera lights are shining bright, I and many others are gonna remember the earlier silence. Don’t just be reactive. Don’t be in denial. Don’t be silent. Don’t just pick up the shell casings and say no one was hit so no big deal. Murders are less than they were 20 years ago so no big deal. This is a very big deal. And I have no problem admitting that I am scared. In our current state of affairs, you should be too.

Update: 10 minutes after this post I got word of another shots fired incident:

“On a different note – my neighbor just texted me about a shooting on Hobart Pl between Sherman and Georgia about an hour ago. Their car got hit 3 times. Don’t think any houses or people were hit.”