Harlem Hybrid: August 2008

In my previous posts I alluded to some of the violence in Harlem that was the norm for so much of the 80's and 90's. Some people viewed this as an exaggeration...but its clear that Harlem still has a major drug and gun problem. This is the 4th mass shooting of the Summer of '08, and it is only by the Grace of God, that no one has been killed yet as a result. It was this latest round, which took place on Sunday at 2pm in the afternoon, which was the most disturbing. The block was full of pedestrians and children, and the end result was that two elderly women were caught in the crossfire. Below are pix from the Police investigation and my final thoughts on this continuing menace to the good people of Harlem.

From what I gathered here's where one shooter first confronted the victim, shooting at him as he exited this building.

This was the scene from across the street. Plenty of potential eyewitnesses as well as people who were in the line of fire.

The place that's taped off in the photo above was another part of the crime scene. There could have been a second shooter there, but I wasnt able to get any info from the asshole stringers that were on scene.

After confronting his target (and missing), it appears the victim pulled out his own weapon and returned fire. The battle then moved to the corner pictured below.

This is a shot of the spot where two shots hit the wall and fragmented. It was these fragments which struck the two bystanders.

Definitely some irony going on with the signage here.

And yes, the Crime Scene Investigator just had to be Asian.

Another one of the shell casings...looks like a .380 auto.

From here, the assailant and victim split up. One going down 113th, the other up St. Nicholas.

Yes, Warburg? Do you have any unleaded 1 bedroom condos in the "Central Park North" area? Ahhh, no.

Another interesting note here is the presence of not one, but two, security cameras which hopefully captured the scene. To make a long story short, this crime will definitely be solved as there is a ton of pressure and evidence coming down. Now the cops know to pay special attention to this area, which ironically makes it safer. Refering back to my Kung Fu Fighting post, this is why it is so important to nurture programs like C.A.S.H. and Brotherhood Sister/Sol. These organizations teach young people alternatives to the street, thereby reducing the likely-hood of such violent confrontations. Now a short piece by Chris Rock...