Not to worry, according to Mayor William Euille, who sent the following billet-doux to Patricia Schubert of the ICCA:
What I have learned from the police is that there was a fight at the Elks' Home as people were leaving an event, and while the police were present, apparently some heard gunshots, however, there were no shots fired at this incident, nor were there any reports to the police department regarding shots anywhere in the area that night.
Hopefully, what sounded like shots were actually not the case.
Always,
Bill
The Growler doesn't live at Queen and Fayette and must confess to not hearing the gunfire. However, the Cranky One also slept through several three-alarm fires on N. Payne Street in the 1980s. Being a sound sleeper is practically a requirement to live in this neighborhood that never sleeps.
But as a public service to all of the rattled residents, the Growler would like to step in and recommend a hot new product to Mayor Euille:
Yes, a Santa Clara, Calif. company actually makes equipment that helps police sort out real gunfire from the phony imitation stuff. It's currently the rage in big city law enforcement, attracting new or potential customers like Boston, Minneapolis and even Washington, D.C.
From the company's Web site:
The price tag is steep ($350,000+) but when you have to tell Alexandrians rich and poor, black and white, young and old that they didn't hear gunfire when they know damn well what gunfire sounds like you may need to back it up with something. So why not a cool techno-toy?Why Choose ShotSpotter?
ShotSpotter’s technology allows police departments to respond more effectively to citizen’s concerns about gunfire in their communities.
Police, sheriffs, the FBI and other law enforcement organizations nationwide have been using ShotSpotter Gunshot Location Systems for nearly a decade. Our systems were instrumental in the identification and later arrest of the Columbus, Ohio-area highway sniper in late 2003 and early 2004, and have been responsible for decreases in gunfire ranging from 60% to 90% in areas in which systems have been deployed...
The ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System uses the principle of acoustic triangulation to locate gunfire across wide areas. Because of its patented spatial filter technology, ShotSpotter systems are not fooled by noises which sound like gunfire but are misleading (like car backfires, firecrackers, etc.) [emphasis added].
So Mayor Euille, put a ShotSpotter under Chief Samarra's Christmas tree this year and seal it with love. You won't regret it.
5 comments:
The police admitted Wednesday night that shots were fired at Queen and Fayette Streets. Apparently officers were around the corner and able to respond quickly. Has anyone noticed that another gun related crime was reported today at the corner of Payne and Cameron Streets?
We all notice for the most part. That doesn't include the nice batch of criminal activity in North Parker Gray this past weekend.
As soon as we get summer-like weather, the activity just ramps up. Another carjacking attempt and an assault.
Intersection of Payne and Cameron Sts. 03-09/ 6:23 p.m. The victim, a 41-year-old Alexandria man, was approached by two men. The suspects implied they had a weapon and stole a DVD player, money and jewelry from the victim. The two men then entered a brown colored Ford Crown Victoria and left the area. Suspect #1 is described as a black male, 18-25 years old, 5'11" to 6', medium build, corn row hair style and was wearing a black bandana around his head, a black jacket and black sweat pants. Suspect #2 is described as a black male, 18-25 years old, 5'6"-5'7", muscular build, short black hair and was wearing a bluish-purple colored jacket and blue jeans.
LOVELY....
Reading your blog it seems some ParkerGray residents are afraid the south will rise again. The postings read like an intra-neighborhood war. The Mayor should be horse-whipped for allowing such divisions to occur.
The mayor and the City don't care. They just pay lip service to this behavior. I am less inclined to blame the police because besides making more arrests, what can they do. The public housing projects are magnets for crime, there is trash everywhere, people don't even feel safe around the Metro anymore (as if they ever did) and the crime around here becomes more and more bizarre.
Furthermore, it seems like there is little will to challenge the status quo by the City government and the Council. They seem paralyzed; when you hear city leaders say "there is nothing we can do" and "there is no where else to move them" you know its only going to get worse.
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