"A man and woman were shot and killed in the Albany Park neighborhood early Sunday in a condo where a police source said drugs were found.
A witness who was in the condo in the 3500 block of West Sunnyside when the shootings occurred said the victims were a 24-year-old man and his 19-year-old girlfriend."
I was walking Annie yesterday morning around 6:45 and saw a Channel 7 news truck in front of the church down the street. So I asked what was going on. The reporter told me two people were shot in their apartment and they didn't know much else. Then he proceeded to ask me stupid questions like "how does knowing this happened in your neighborhood make you feel?"
I feel great about it - wonderful! Fantastic!... what a DUMB question. I'm convinced that most people on the news sound stupid because they're responding to stupid questions.
It's still creepy, but remind myself when thinking about this that this sort of thing can and does happen almost anywhere. Sure, I knew when I moved here that the neighborhood wasn't as "nice" (read: white) as my previous neighborhoods, but I knew people who lived where I'm at and they all said it's fine. For the record, I still think it's fine. Maybe it's not as 'safe' as Lincoln Park (then again, the city puts more services and cops in areas that provide the city more property tax money). Yes, there's some problems here. Neighbors I talk to while walking Annie said they heard the man who was shot was a drug dealer with a rap sheet a mile long.
The other thing that lessens the creepy factor is that this was probably not random. I'm not excusing the behavior at all (I know how this will sound) but the guy who did this had a reason to kick down that particular door. Maybe it was drugs, money owed, or a jilted ex-boyfriend - but it was something. That means that unlike a random act, it couldn't have just as likely been my door or someone in my building. These people knew each other - I'll bet a year's salary on that.
That makes it less creepy than an incident about 5 years ago in Lincoln Park (rich, whitey McTrixiville) where a woman was dragged into a gangway between two houses and raped two doors down from my apartment on a night I was coming home late from something. It happened about two hours after I had gotten home - but still - it could have just as easily been me in that case. That, to me, is scarier than this AND it happened in a "good" and "safe" neighborhood.
It still sucks, it's still creepy, and it's still sad that human beings continue to do things like this to each other. But it's part of life anywhere, particularly in a city. It's a reason to learn to be aware of your surroundings and learn how to handle yourself when you're out.
There was a candlelight vigil last night outside the building with a crowd of about 15 people. The candles were still lit this morning.
3 people give a shit:
That sucks. But then again, you're in Chicago. I'm in San Francisco. I kind of expect it, as fucked up as that sounds.
As for the guy who was shot, yes. I won't take you up on that bet. I bet something happened between the shooter and him. The big bummer is that girlfriend is probably completely innocent.
It's a funny feeling - since I moved to my place (east end of Albany Park), there have been three murders within 2-3 blocks of my place... at least reported ones. Police declared them all "gang-related" - and two of them were young men about 20-25. I, too, decided they weren't particularly after me, although I also noticed that I prefer to come home late at night from the north, rather than the south of the apt. Once in while, I check the Tribune local service for the number of recent break-in & robbery incidents, as I suspect that might be more relevant to my situation.
Yes. When coming home later at night, I always come from the Kimball train stop, even though it's a block out of my way, because at least it's a busier street to walk down.
There's also stats at the CPD website:
https://portal.chicagopolice.org/portal/page/portal/ClearPath/Communities/Districts/District17
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