Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Being Afraid to Go Outside at Night, That Isn't Being Free

Gun violence doesn't make us free.
From the STrib, reporting in part on a story I had posted earlier, and on a new shooting of a teen.  The emphasis added is mine (DG):

Champlin teen ID'd as homicide victim

The 17-year-old girl died at the scene after being shot in the head Thursday outside an apartment complex in Brooklyn Park.

KC Freiermuth was hopeful that the crime around her Brooklyn Park apartment was starting to dissipate, what with ramped-up police presence. But on Thursday night, those hopes were lost when a teen girl was fatally shot in the head outside the Huntington Place complex.
On Saturday, authorities identified the victim as 17-year-old Jennifer Scott of Champlin. She died at the scene near 73rd Avenue and Unity Lane N. "We haven't had kids getting hurt," Freiermuth said.
Freiermuth has lived in the apartment for four years with her fiancé. In that time, she said their car was stolen. Two years ago, a stabbing occurred, and six months ago, police raided an apartment down the hall as part of a drug investigation.
"We don't go outside at night," she said.
A resident who heard the shooting told her he thought it was fireworks going off.
A woman at the apartment complex leasing office, though, said that the area is generally safe and that a shooting hasn't occurred there in 45 years. A flier from the office warns residents to keep their blinds closed when they're not home to prevent break-ins after several burglaries were reported in the area.
Freiermuth said a similar flier was distributed Saturday to let residents know about the shooting. However, police don't believe Scott, the victim, lived in the building.
According to police, four people were seen standing nearby when they arrived at the scene but scattered when police approached. Witnesses told police they heard a "verbal altercation" before the shooting, but it wasn't clear whether the quarrel involved Scott or others.
Brooklyn Park police and the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office are investigating.
Minneapolis victim ID'd
The victim of a Thursday night shooting in south Minneapolis has been identified as David W. Raisch-Day, 18, of Cass Lake, Minn.
He was standing with a group of people outside a multi-unit home in the 2700 block of Longfellow Avenue S. when shots were fired shortly after 11 p.m. He was struck in the head and died at Hennepin County Medical Center.
No arrests had been made as of Saturday night.
Kelly Smith • 612-673-4141 Jim Adams contributed to this report.

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