It sure feels like it. Two women stalked in the late evening, on two separate occasions, each one while walking home. Then, several weeks ago, a drive-by(?) shooting at a party on Clark St. around 2 AM. Because of these incidents, we asked the police to meet with us. Here is the report of that meeting.

Then, two nights ago, at 11:48 P.M., the unspeakable happened. Here is what we have been told. Five hooded men with faces masked, entered the house at 2600 E. DeKist, a “grandfathered” rental (up to five occupants) that, as long as I’ve been here (ten years) has always been rented to students. There, they demanded drugs and money, and pistol whipped the occupants, including a young visitor, 25 years old. A struggle ensued, a gun went off, wounding the young man who fell to the floor. Someone ran across the street and asked neighbors to call the police. The young man was transported to the hospital, where he later died.

Here’s the story, as it appeared in the H-T this morning.

This morning, a black truck with tinted windows drove down Overhill, taking pictures. One neighbor saw it, and called the police to see if this truck was a detective. No. She then put out an alert to our green acres email list, to let others know about the truck.

If you wish to get on this list, please let us know.

Remember, if any of us see anything suspicious, please do not hesitate to call the police. As they emphasized in their meeting with us, we are their eyes and ears.

Police have been clustering in front of 2600 E. DeKist, and combing DeKist and Overhill on foot, interviewing neighbors.

This is a wake-up call. We need to be aware of our environment, acutely aware. And we need to be aware of each other, and have our own and each other’s safety in mind. The more we communicate, the better we know each other, the more we share our lives in community, the better off we will all be.

Let this terrible tragedy be a crisis that transforms into opportunity.