man found shot to death in 300 block of 25th

Did anyone hear what sounded like gunshots on 31st Monday night?

According to the news, it was a drug deal gone bad, or drug related.

I’ve lived up here many, many years and finding shot/dead people in cars is a rare occurrence. The last time I recall was the man who took his own life in his car at Libby Hill Park and was found by the Alley Rally people. That was several years ago.

About ten days ago we noticed a big escalation in “activity” on our street, Fairmount, and lots of alley traffic and fights, etc. It almost seemed like a big shipment came in and everyone was buzzing about it. Street guys were staked out on each corner (facing the apartments) 3 deep.
When we complained about the loitering, the detectives said they really could not arrest anyone unless they were trespassing on private property. He explained heroin was the problem in that area. He also stated the block was under surveillance and they would like to get the big suppliers.
I wonder if the shooting on Broad and the robberies on 23rd have anything to do with an increase in the supply. Sad. Very sad.

She can put a positive spin on it all she wants…bottom line is that some guy got a bullet in his brain in one of the “nicer” areas of Church Hill.

I’m sure the assailant wouldn’t have thought twice about killing a witness had someone been walking by and seen it all unfold….which by the way, was a REAL possibility. 1:45? I can’t tell you how often I’ve walked my dog near there or come home from The Hill or Acapella’s about that time.

I’m glad people don’t live in fear. On the other hand, to just shrug it off is irresponsible.

You can deliberately kill someone and only get 10 years in jail???? If I had known that…..

I live within spitting distance of where this event took place. I want to say that I have always been amazed that people in this “nicer” area some how think they are segregated from things that happen just one or two blocks away in “bad” part of hill. The reality of this situation is we live in a developing urban area and when the economy takes a hit (hello recession) – crime goes up. It’s not rocket science! This does not mean that we should live in fear because when it is your time – it is your time.

All in all, most of Church Hill is pretty safe by most standards. In an urban area, there will be crime. It happens in every city across the country. Yes, there will be some drug dealing, some prostitution, some random wandering around the streets, some pan-handling. That is life in an an urban area. I’ve lived in many major urban areas along the East Coast…Richmond is the smallest. I’ve always chosen to live in an urban setting as opposed to suburbia. The issues that we face here in Church Hill are no different than those in Boston, Philadelphia, NY, Atlanta, and DC. In most cases, criminals are victimizing criminals. Random acts of violence are pretty rare. Don’t let a few of the recent events erase the not so distant memory of where Broad Street was just 10 short years ago. The majority of East Broad in Church Hill was largely a collection of boarded up, decaying, dilapidated houses from end to end. For some of the newcomers, in 1998, one of the largest homes on the street was on the market for years at $155,000.! And, no buyers. Today, that very same home is worth almost $1,000,000 and located on one of the most desirable blocks on the Hill. Ten short years ago…. a drive down Broad was dramatically different from today. The area has grown and changed for the better every year since but there are still many remnants from the past. Change will happen but it won’t take place overnight. Ten years ago, Saturday nights at 11:30, for example, was a complete circus on Broad.
I can remember countless cars streaming down the street blasting music, people wandering around aimlessly, shouting and yelling in the streets, occasional gunfire in the alleyways, open-air drug dealing on just about every corner of East Marshall St., just to name a few. Times have changed….today, you see nothing but a quiet stillness at the same time. Folks, there is no more serious crime in the Hill than in the fantastic Fan. Somehow, the media seems to sensationalize everything that happens up here.

We have some people across the Gillies Creek area who think it’s funny to set of firecrakers almost every weekend night around 12:30 or 1am. I’ve called the cops a couple of times but the dumba$$es still do it. Every once in a while I do hear what I could swear are gunshots but w/no clear direction from which they come, it’s hard to call the cops and send them on a wild goose chase as it really does waste their time.

One night I was walking around the 500 block of 32nd and had a cop stop me, wondering if I had called them about a tattered flag hanging in front of someones house. People, that is not something you call the cops for!!

Walking around late at night I do see some interesting things and I do make sure the only thing I have on me are my dogs and cell phone. I give them no incentive to bother me. I once even called the cops on a domestic dispute so being up late and outside does have its advantages, :).

Every once in a while people still think it’s okay to park at the end of my street (very end of Marshall) and I’ve scared a few people off by just opening my cell phone so being aware of your surroundings at all times and not being afraid to hit send is a good thing.