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Shots fired on 20th Street
An anonymous reader sends a photo and eyewitness account of what sounds like attempted murder on 20th Street…
I was riding up R Street up from Mosby Street and I passed a girl walking and a guy on a bike. She pointed up ahead and said to the bicyclist, “There he is, go fight him!”
He reached down towards his left ankle, she was like, “don’t do that!”
The dude rode around the corner right on 20th Street and started shooting at another guy walking on the sidewalk. Maybe 5 or 6 shots.
He runs out and gets back on his bike, but seems too andrenalized to ride, drops it and runs towards the Mosby apartments across from MLK Middle School. She points to the bike, is like “don’t worry about it” and gets on it to start riding.
And then I took her photo.
She says, “Did you just take my picture?”
I was like, “This is your neighborhood. Why are y’all fucking shooting each other?”
And then I ride my bike as quickly away as I could.
No word yet on whether or not anyone actually got shot, etc.
WHOA!
Good work!!!
This seems like another one of those cases where someone is entirely sensible to post anonymously, rather than risk putting their real name out in public.
Someone’s got some balls. Kudos for hopefully helping get some scum off the street (if this account is accurate).
Look at those calves! She works out!
Thanks for this! I was one of the 911 callers. I’m sickened by behavior I witness living in this neighborhood.
Thankfully we will soon be able to buy more than one handgun a month.
I admire the guts of the photographer.
I also can’t help but comment on the juxtaposition between this post and the inspirational music video. A lot of work to do in RVA.
A quick read of the Times shows no shooting. Any word?
Yeah, the photographer had guts indeed. I would have been shaking, much less, be able to talk.
Stay in touch with you local police Lt. Based on my experience, shot’s fired aren’t especially big news if no one is hit. We had this incident last month that never made the papers.
A Shootout in Jackson Ward
Thankfully most of the hoods around here are poor shots and it’s a good thing nobody seems to have been hurt. However, those bullets have to land somewhere and I hope the knucklehead and his lady friend can get taken off the street based on this before they get a lucky shot off next time.
John did warn us about a year ago…
/2011/07/23/keep-an-eye-out-bikes-they-might-have-guns_18640/
Nice work photographer. Your actions took courage and that is what is needed to improve the neighborhood. I hope the police can make good use of it .
Some very belated follow up… This was actually me, I ended up in the middle of this on the way home after work at MLK one day.
The guy charged as the shooter got off, I couldn’t identify him and the guy who was shot at refused to cooperate after a while. I was so jacked on adrenaline when the shots started popping that I absolutely could not say much about the shooter other than generalities.
The girl in the photograph was not charged with anything, as far as I know.
The accused shooter’s lawyer ended up visiting me at work at the school one day. They knew exactly who I was, and I had to assume where I lived (just off of Fairmount Avenue at the time). This gave me a new, visceral understanding of why people are reluctant to speak out when things happen on their block.
On the day of the trial, I was sat in a hallway outside of the trail until I was called in to give my account of what I knew or saw. The accused shooter’s family was out there as well, and apparently knew who I was. It was more than awkward.
To this day I wish that I’d had the stones to take a photo of the shooter.