A Mom, a Blog, and the Life In-Between

Thursday, January 17, 2008

A Murder in my Neighborhood

I stepped outside this morning to greet my favorite kind of day: gray, cloudy, slightly cool. But it was also quiet, eerily quiet. There was a moment as I made my way to my car, Max in my arms, where my mind registered that the silence was unnatural. Usually, no matter what kind of day it is, there is the constant buzz of lawnmowers, cars, voices and music.

I drove the five blocks to Max's nanny's house, and as I turned the corner and parked, I saw ahead of me, just a block up, the yellow police tape. There were three or four residents standing just on the other side of it, by a police car that was parked horizontally to prevent anyone from driving through. Further up the block was the large CSI truck, and I knew, from watching every episode of The First 48, that the truck's presence meant one thing: a dead body.

Inside the nanny's house, we discussed what could have possibly happened. She hadn't heard anything at any point in the night, but word was circulating that there were three dead people, all murdered.

Turns out, it was two people: one found dead, shot up on the porch of a house, the other found on the street a block up, where witnesses say he ran, begging the assailant to spare his life.

We live in a safe part of town. We live in an area where crime is rare and, when burglaries or robberies occur, non-violent. Outside the most dangerous parts of town, violent crimes tend to be targeted, personal, the result of familial or romantic feuds.

I remind myself of these things to help me cope with the proximity of this crime. Right now, there are no answers, no indication as to whether this was random or a drug deal gone bad or what. In the absence of answers, all that I know is that two people were shot to death in my neighborhood, and the killer is out there somewhere.

I had planned to spend the afternoon in the backyard with Max. But as the day has worn on, I've reconsidered. We'll just play quietly indoors, where I can protect him.

Labels: crime, miami, south florida

Posted by Tere @ 1/17/2008 | Permalink |

4 Comments

Rick posted at 1/17/2008 6:42 PM
As I think we were just saying the other night, it can happen anywhere...and it usually does. You'll feel safe again in a few days. Although I can assure you from experience, you'll never forget.

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slouching mom posted at 1/17/2008 8:37 PM
How awful. And frightening.

Miss posted at 1/18/2008 1:56 PM
OMG how awful. I hope they catch whoever did this ASAP.

Kristabella posted at 1/20/2008 2:54 PM
How scary! It can happen anywhere, which is SO, SO frightening!