Ms. Townsend decides to take over.
“Great speech, Ali. And a great discussion. We’ll pick it up next class,” she says.
WHENIWALKhome from school my biggest fear isnotshaking off some drug dealer who’s trying to sell me blue caps or horse. And it’s almostneversome tough-guy jerk asking me to “loan” him five bucks. They almost never scare me. (Not because I’m brave, but because I’m fast.)
The only thing I’m really afraid of is what I call “Cell Smash.” That’s when a few hundred kids walk like zombies on the streets near the school, and almost every single one of those kids is looking down at their phone.
Walk. Walk. Smash!
Walk. Walk. Smash!
“Whoa” and “Watch it, fool” always come too late.
But I’m going to risk being part of the Cell Smash crowd today. I need a news update. And I want it right away, about the gang scene last night. And, of course, about the shooter.
So the second I leave school property I’m punching into Google: “shooting gang fight arrest Southeast DC.” The first news listing I read is from the good-old kinda-reliable WashingtonInquirer.
NEW DETAILS IN SOUTHEAST CONFLICT.New information emerged in last night’s gang-related arrests in the Southeast neighborhood. Responding to urgent local appeals, fourteen police officers and detectives intervened in a violent confrontation between two groups known locally as “Nation of Snakes” and “Skull Street.” Three arrests were made. More reports as news happens.
I keep looking. I keep googling. The shooting, man. Can we please get to the shooting? I’m busting with nerves. I scroll my way to a different suggestion farther down the page. This is the super-trash website whose name itself is a joke,The DC Truth.But I’m in luck. In just a few seconds I’m reading exactly the kind of article I’m looking for. The headline screamsTHE BULLETS AND THE BLOODBATH. Now, I didn’t hear any bullets or see any bloodbath, but when it comes to crime scenes, I’m new to the job. I don’t waste any time reading the story.
What’s worse than a brutal gangland battle? A brutal gangland shooting. That’s the chaos and madness that erupted between one member of the often trigger-happy DC police force and a member of the terrifying group known as the Skull Street gang. As part of a police attempt to prevent escalating violence between two notorious Southeast gangs, Officer Jeremy Hanson, an officer with only one year of police force experience, shot and wounded Neil Michael Morrissey in his right arm. Morrissey was later reported in “fair” condition at United Medical Center. A spokesperson for UMC said that young Morrissey’s chances for survival were good, although she emphasized that the bullet wound in his shoulder “left him in severe pain.”
I feel sorry for anybody who takes a bullet, whether they’re a gang member or not.
The guy I’m feelingreallybad for is this rookie Jeremy Hanson.
But here’s what I’m feeling best about: I am so relieved to learn that my dad was not the shooter.
I decide to do a little bit of media temperature-taking. I move over to Twitter, which is spitting out—at breakneck speed—observations on the incident.
@Sylvia_knowsitall“often trigger-happy”@DCTruth. Try “ALWAYS trigger-happy” that’s the truth. DC cops shoot to kill. I know. They got my daughter who was walking home from a bridal shower. Summer night. Not even 8 pm or dark yet.
@Sen_Lowry_DuetzThe Washington police have a job to do, and they do it with intelligence and care. As a Virginia senator, I know that dealing with local gangs is treacherous. I salute the fine men and women of the neighboring police force. Demand a full investigation immediately.
My Twitter feed is filling up way faster than I can scroll.
As I keep reading, I see that there are plenty of extremists on the I-Hate-Gangs side. They’re not trash-talking the police, but they’re not really helping the cause of the cops, either.
@JumpinJoeNevellThat officer shouldve sprayed both gangs with bullets then we’d solve this gang problem
This Jumpin’ Joe Nevell’s a regular Shakespeare, huh?
Then you got the Tweeters who walk both sides of the line.
@LuckyLyndaJellyfishUnderfunding of outreach social systems and psychological treatment, along with ill-tempered ill-trained police. Formula for disaster. How much proof do we need that gangs are the result of bad planning.
And then there are people, like me, who just wish there was a freaking solution.
I click off my phone.
Listen. I am no social media genius. But the one thing all this Twitter talk shows is that this shooting is going to be a red-hot topic.
AND…IT TURNSout that I’m absolutely right about this story turning hot.
In just a few hours, the shooting in Southeast has become one of the biggest issues in Washington, DC, a town where big news is happening every day.
What I never predicted, though, was that the Cross family was about to become a part of this breaking story.