For about five and a half hours
yesterday, our neighborhood was on lockdown, while police searched for
an armed shooter who had killed three people at an expresso bar just
blocks from where I live. There are many iterations to the story.
The same shooter actually killed a total of four people and then took
his own life. Accounts indicate that the event cannot be characterized
as gang-related violence, but rather as the mental instability of a
single individual, of whom a member of his family said, "We could see
this coming."
For those five and a half hours, as I
sent out communications to our neighborhood disaster preparedness
coordinators, I was in the same position as other members of our
community who live in constant fear of a stray bullet or an unintended
consequence affecting their life. That two very well off neighborhoods
-- Ravenna and West Seattle -- had armed police officers going door to
door is a phenomena that others who live in different parts of the city
are very familiar with. They have been asking for action to quell the
violence for many years.
For most in Ravenna, life is back to
normal this morning and life is good. For others in parts of the city
where random violence occurs on a daily basis, life is as usual too --
but the reality is much more painful. Perhaps while horrific events are
still in our minds, we can figure out a way to reduce the risk of this
type of violence -- that includes enforcing current laws on the books,
re-examining gun control registration issues, and re-staffing the gang
units to prior levels at the Seattle Police Department.
My heart goes out to all the families
who have lost loved ones or friends from such senseless violence. Colin
Powell says that optimism is a force multiplier. I am optimistic that,
without guns and using our best minds, we can make some progress on
this issue. It's larger than Seattle, but I would be satisfied to start
right here.
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