Renamed: Not so quiet neighborhoods

[DrQ]

We live in a (mostly) quiet neighborhood, but early this morning we heard ... crack, crack ... crack, crack, crack. I told DW, "That's not good, those aren't firecrackers (which go pop, slight difference in sounds)." At that time in the morning, it could have been around the corner or blocks away.

DW says call the police and I pointed out that I couldn't tell them where so what would be the point. About 2 minutes later a single police car comes down the road with lights only.

Since there was no ambulance/fire department I suspect that a home owner was shooting at a prowler.

I say that it is a quiet neighborhood, but the last excitement we had was about 4 years ago when they did raid on a house 8 blocks away with 2 flash/bangs. OMG it shook our house from that distance! This was part of a large raid of gang safe houses in "safe" suburban areas. I think there were about 6 at the time.

Exciting times.

 

[turkel]

Hope all is well.

 

[WVBaker]

Regrettably, it's a sign of the times. Safe suburban areas can be a bit of misnomer. If it were a neighboring homeowner shooting at a prowler, they may question that description.

You can't live your life in fear however, try to be aware of your surroundings and should this happen again, call 911. Any information you can offer, no matter how insignificant you think it is, may help.

 

[jeffox]

We play a game around our house of "Gunshot or Fireworks". It's a more popular during the summer when there are more fireworks.

 

[AnnaS]

Hope all is well!

 

[VacationForever]

Hopefully whoever was in the midst of committing a crime get caught.

Two mornings ago I drove out at 9am and saw a SWAT vehicle - sort of like a SUV with muscles like a Hummer with the letters painted "SWAT" turned out behind me. I was thinking that was odd for our safe and quiet neighborhood. It turned out that there was a break-in in the middle of the night at another gated community and there were supposedly 4 crooks and 2 were caught and they thought the other 2 had barricaded themselves inside the empty home. SWAT got in at 8:30am and did not find anyone. I guess 2 got away. It is incidents like this that reminds us that no community is truly safe.

 

[clifffaith]

We play a game around our house of "Gunshot or Fireworks". It's a more popular during the summer when there are more fireworks.

We play the same game. Cliff is better at it than I am.

 

[Panina]

It seems even in the quiet area more stuff is happening. While I have been away, there was an explosion that made some blocks within my community shake.

Ended up being someone on the block next to the community did target practice with tannerite. It was in our local paper they found out who was responsible. The article didn’t say if they were charged.

 

[DrQ]

We play a game around our house of "Gunshot or Fireworks". It's a more popular during the summer when there are more fireworks.

Yeah, gunshots have a sharper note. When I was young and STUPIT, I only recall that same type of report hearing metal canisters exploding. Sometimes it's amazing we survive our youth.

 

[bogey21]

50 or so years ago I remember being in a bar in E. St Louis, IL. It was right across the street from the old Cahokia Downs Race Track. I was having a beer waiting for the traffic from the track to clear when I heard a shot fired. The bartender immediately called either the police or an ambulance. But what I remember most vividly was that 98% of the patrons weren't the least bit curios. They kept right one with their drinking and talking like it was an every night occurrence...

George

 

[DrQ]

It seems even in the quiet area more stuff is happening. While I have been away, there was an explosion that made some blocks within my community shake.

Ended up being someone on the block next to the community did target practice with tannerite. It was in our local paper they found out who was responsible. The article didn’t say if they were charged.

SMH

 

[DaveNV]

I live on the edge of the city limits in a smaller, rural town. In my area it's a toss-up between fireworks, gunfire, and duck hunters "out in the valley." We are on a migratory path for tens of thousands of Snow Geese, who come to winter over around here. Hunters are often out at dawn and dusk. If I hear suspect noises at those times, I assume it's hunters. At other times of day, I'll listen closer, because it's likely one of my neighbors.

We didn't have gang houses, but we did have one house in my development of about 35 homes that was occupied by a very strange group of non-English-speaking East European people. (One neighbor said they were Russian, but I don't know that.) These people would open their garage door a couple of feet, and then work all day, and most every night, inside their garage. Every time anyone walked by the partially-open door, they saw a number of sets of legs from the knees down. Odd. Turns out they were trafficking in stolen auto parts. One day the police arrived en masse, and arrested the dozen or so people who were living there, which was surprising, as it was only a three bedroom house, and there were only two vehicles ever parked in the driveway. The house sat empty for a year or more, until it was finally sold at auction. A nice family moved in, and that was essentially that. Weird.

Dave

 

[DrQ]

Then again, when we moved here, there was a brothel which was here before the development started and then was incorporated into a town. It was a place where the clients were driven in by limousine, there were no drive up clients, but everyone knew what was going on.

ETA: It was closed and torn down about 8 years ago.

 

[Panina]

SMH

So am I. There just seems there is no where to be 100% safe anymore.

 

[Glynda]

This was just one of our weekly excitements (the other a fire in the Confederate Widows Home a little over a block away from us). Unexploded ordinances are found every now and then downtown as well as on the beaches after a storm uncovers them. https://www.postandcourier.com/news...cle_812852e0-482b-11ea-a6b3-7f04814d56a1.html

 

[DrQ]

Unexploded ordinances are found every now and then downtown as well as on the beaches after a storm uncovers them.

"One of the workers, Dyzhon Boykins, carried it to the parking lot before the crew realized what it was, at which point they called authorities."

 

[Passepartout]

You folks live in strange neighborhoods. Nothing like that happens here. Oh, in early July fireworks are sold, then that shuts off on the 4th. I know because Mr Bear bears the *pop* of fireworks and pulls me home like a locomotive! He does NOT like sharp, loud noises. He wouldn't be able to live anywhere with gunfire or fireworks. Can't say it would make me too happy either. I know I should, but frequently forget to lock my pickup in the driveway. In 20 years living here, it got ransacked once- there wasn't anything in it to steal so they never came back.

I put up Ring cameras. All they ever show is dogs, cats, the mailman & Buster Brown. Pretty boring.

 

[Glynda]

So, how do you insert a link and have part of the article show? All I seem to be able to achieve is one to click on.

 

[Luanne]

Then again, when we moved here, there was a brothel which was here before the development started and then was incorporated into a town. It was a place where the clients were driven in by limousine, there were no drive up clients, but everyone knew what was going on.

ETA: It was closed and torn down about 8 years ago.

I found out that a townhouse I owned for a few years had been a "brothel" some years back.

 

[am1]

Glad I do not live in those areas. Here petty crime is a problem. Cannot leave a hose, shovel, plastic chair at my farm, same for the beach lot of the ocean. A few houses, cars get broken. The US caused drug problem passes through which causes a few issues (mostly to ones in the business).

 

[DaveNV]

Then again, when we moved here, there was a brothel which was here before the development started and then was incorporated into a town. It was a place where the clients were driven in by limousine, there were no drive up clients, but everyone knew what was going on.

ETA: It was closed and torn down about 8 years ago.

It wasn't named after chickens, was it? I saw a movie about this.

Dave

 

[WinniWoman]

My brother-in-law just called us and said he was watching tv in the dark ( he lives alone) and heard someone trying to open the front door. This is like 7 pm. Then the person goes around the back door and takes a rock and breaks the back door window.

My BIL takes his shotgun and waits. He sees the guys hand trying to grab the doorknob. He then yells at him that he will blow him away if he moves and the guy takes off!

Scary stuff. He has lived in this house forever in a development. Never had any problems.

He called 911 and the police came. Canine cop found the guys cell phone on the grass a couple of blocks away.

To be continued. After hearing this story hubby has now “ prepared” as well. Glad we installed the alarm system here, though certainly not full proof. My BIL is going to get one as well and also put a fence in his backyard.

 

[geist1223]

Shotguns are good for home defense.

 

[bizaro86]

Crazy. I know lots of people who dont lock their front door. I've never heard a gunshot in my life. Maybe I'm boring...

 

[easyrider]

In our neighborhood shooting is legal . We have a target area in our back yard. My neighbor has a skeet shooting area at his place. Anyway, it is common in daylight hours to hear guns occasionally. New people to the neighborhood sometimes call the sheriff and a duputy will show up to let us know some one called. Then the deputy usually talks to the caller to tell them we are legal.

Bill