Drive by Shootings

I'm on a brand new email list...an 'etree' for my neighborhood located in Richmond, CA.
Sounds exciting, huh. Well, it is because of some excitement that it has been performed. A type of excitement I would much rather avoid.

Earlier this year I think I heard a statistic that rated Richmond #1 in the state of California for crime, murders or something horrible like that. Frankly, my little neighborhood, located in the "Richmond Annex" seemed quite removed from any riff raff. Other than some random car break-ins, our 'hood' has been rather quiet and calm in the 4+ years I have lived here. Then why the need for the neighborhood 'etree'? It seems in recent months, the relative serenity of our safety bubble has all been but burst. Last week on Thursday night, around 7:30, we heard a "pap, pap, pap" in rapid succession. Hmm. I remarked to Phil that it was odd to have fireworks going off in August. Then we both realized that this was no delayed Independence Day celebration. What we heard was gunfire. Yikes.

As it turns out, there was a drive by shooting a mere two to three blocks from our house. No one was hurt. No one was caught or arrested. In fact, although the Police were called, the episode kind of fell through the cracks. That was until now anyhow.

Our neighborhood group has very quickly gained momentum over the past few days. Now we are regularly exchanging emails, have the names of three local beat police responsible for our area and we know to dial 911 at the sound of gunshots. No doubt we will be all watching, listening and reporting anything out of the ordinary. The sad thing is I can't believe it has come to this. I hope I never hear gunfire at night again, but somehow I don't think that is likely.

It makes me wonder how safe I am when I leave my house to run or ride my bike.
At the very least, I will certainly have a bit more urgency in my stride and spin...for all the wrong reasons.