I Could Have Died - Gun Violence on an Urban Street

Urban Decay

Today, on my way home from lunch with a friend, I could have died.

No, seriously.

Image used by permission from a private collection

I witnessed a shooting.

I was at the stoplight, about 4 cars from the front. Matt's big truck sits high above everything else on the road, so I had a bird's eye view of the proceedings. The light turned green and the first 3 cars drove off but the beat up white car in front of me was still. So was the black car to his right.

A moment too long passed and I considered laying on the horn to remind them that they were driving - holding up traffic. I checked my urge for a split second and noticed the driver's window was all the way down in the cold winter air. As I noticed, both vehicles moved slowly forward, windows down. I couldn't hear any conversation over the rumble of Matt's diesel, but it was obvious these two had been in conversation. Now that they were moving the urge to chide them subsided.

As they rolled slowly forward, the driver of the dark vehicle stuck his head out. In profile, he was an older man, late 50s perhaps - with skin weathered and worn. His dark curly hair was in need of a trim. Along with his profile in the window I saw the barrel of a gun, short, black, and shiny peeking out from the corner.

Image used by permission from a private collection

I let off the gas.

Both drivers continued forward, the white vehicle going straight and the dark vehicle making a wide right hand turn. I hung back in the middle of the intersection now, not wanting to put myself in the line of danger. I watched the dark car move slowly away from me, gun still hanging out of the window, then heard a loud !pop!

I hit my brakes.

The white car in front of me started to smoke and I heard another !pop! from the direction of the dark car, but he continued off down the street. There may have been a third gun shot as well, but by now I was though the intersection, trailing the white car by a few vehicle lengths and considering my options.

If the white car pulled over, would I pull over with him? I had, after all, witnessed a crime.

If the dark car started coming back, what would I do?

Should I immediately call the police?

Would the driver of the white car also start shooting indiscriminately?

By now, the smoke was lessening and my turn was approaching. I felt safe again as I checked the cross streets and saw no sign of the dark car. The white vehicle continued straight through the intersection and I turned toward home. What was going to be a standard lunch date had just been subsumed by a random act of violence.

Image used by permission from a private collection

I could have died; what could possibly happen in the space of a stop light that is worth shooting someone?

Many thanks to the #powerhousecreatives for their awesome

community support