June 15, 2006
Creep Shoots at Dad, Baby
Yeah, maybe the imagery is over the top, but this What-The-Hell-Is-Wrong-With-People story warrants it.
A 28-year-old guy was sitting in Logan last night with his 7-month-old son on his lap. Two other guys -- possible friends, possible aquaintances -- are hovering nearby. It's a nice, mellow, not-quite-summer, not-quite-spring night. They're hanging out.
Naturally, a gunman appears. Not just any gunman -- this creep is apparently the Terminator. He fires FIFTY SHOTS. Not five, not 10. Fifty. A 30-year-old man was hit 15 times, and remarkably survived. A 25-year-old took two slugs. The dad, Yusef, spun around at the last second and took a bullet to the shoulder, probably saving his kid's life.
Of course, the why? question is looming large right now. Cops suspect it was a retaliatory shooting, but are unsure if Yusef was an intended target, or if he just had picked the wrong time to take his two sons to visit his mother while chatting up some residents.
Two things absolutely stuck with reporters as Crime Scene Unit members dropped a blizzard of yellow plackards, counting up the shells:
1.) Someone had the gall, the utter lack of character -- even by ghetto thug standards -- to shoot at a guy holding an infant.
2.) Someone had the gall, the utter lack of character -- even by ghetto thug standards -- to shoot at a guy holding an infant, and no one saw a damn thing.
"I didn't even know someone got shot," one wrinkled woman said with a straight face, even though her porch was about 30 yards from the shooting. You didn't hear the first shot? The fortieth? "No, I only heard the cops when they got here."
When Philly Confidential overheard another woman telling her friends about what she heard and/or saw, we ambled over. Turns out we must have been imagining things. "I was inside," was her curt response. "Why, did something happen?"
We're not discounting what it's like to live in fear in a neighborhood where no one is ever truly safe, and homicides can happen at any minute. But I think Yusef's sobbing cousin summed it up best: "Y'all know who did it. They shot at him -- they shot at the baby! And y'all can't say nothing!?"
Posted by david at June 15, 2006 11:17 PM"even by ghetto thug standards" This is your first mistake, there are no standards with these animals.
Posted by: Joe at June 20, 2006 08:49 AMFair point. Shooting at a guy holding an infant pretty much drives that home.
Posted by: david at June 20, 2006 05:24 PMI remember that; it occurred around the corner from my house. If you knew what type of neighborhood it was, the fact that folks are silent wouldn't be surprising. I'm a long time residence of the area and I've certainly watched it change. Houses are falling apart and no one cares about anything that doesn't benefit them. Tried to do the right thing, report crime and work with the police. All that did was mark me for retaliation -- "some how" the thugs found out who told. So, much for anomity, huh? While I may not care too much 'bout myself, I have a mother and kids to watch out for. Now my only goal is to secure enough funds to move my family far away and NEVER look back. Sign me a future ex-resident of Philly ....
Posted by: Hard Hitter at August 25, 2006 08:22 AM