Gun Violence on the Hill
- 2006-08-31
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Since I moved here, there have now been (I believe) three shootings in my neighorhood. None of them have been your typical shootings though. The first one was a bizarre murder suicide back in March over on Republican & 21st. Then there was a mentally ill man who was shot dead by the police on Broadway & John after threatening police and passersby with a gun. This morning yet another shooting on Capitol Hill occured with a guy being fatally wounded on Harrison & Melrose (about a block from here). Apparently, I slept through the sound of gunshots at 2am, because I’m definitely close enough to have heard them.
It’s just odd to me, because this neighborhood in general does not feel particularly dangerous. Maybe there are just too many people with psychological issues?
One Comment
I’ve thought about that, too. My opinion is all observation and completely with factual backup.
I think Capital Hill has become a catch-all area for those who don’t follow traditional norms. 99% of that is perfectly healthy, and 1% is wildly unpredictable (according to my made-up-statistics).
Anyway, that’s a different, and safer sort of violence than systemic crime such as gang warfare or rampant, cultural division. Capital Hill isn’t one of those places you end up because there’s nowhere left to go: its one of those places most people chnoose to live.
(Even the homeless population seems to folow those trends: cap hill seems to have a lot of teenagers who could still fall back on shelters if they were willing to give up some of their freedom).