We have heard a lot about the murder numbers being way down this year. There have been whispers about a political/media cover-up when it comes to violent attacks. Below is a copy of an email that has been circulating over the last 24 hours. Names and contact information have been removed to protect the victims. I am posting this here because numerous people have inquired as to why this story has not been mentioned by any media outlet yet.
"My family and I were brutally attacked at approximately 1:30 am Sunday morning, May 18th 2008 in Federal Hill. The police have asked that we reach out to anyone and everyone we know to see if anyone saw or heard anything so that we can try to catch these people. Please pass along my story to all you know that might have been in the area.
My brother blank, cousin blank and I were walking south on Light street . A dark colored sedan struck a city bus at the intersection of West and Light. Everyone on the street at the time was yelling at the driver to stop because she was attempting to flee the accident.
We crossed the street and headed toward the intersection of William and West to blank's girlfriend blank's house in the Street . We saw that there was an unrelated fight occurring at the intersection of William and West so we were discussing that perhaps we should just go to my house instead of blank's house so that we didn't get in the middle of it.
By the time we got to blank's house, the driver who had struck the bus had turned down West Street and was attempting to get away. Because there was a fight blocking the street, she could not so she reversed toward Light Street .
At that time blank yelled at her to stop since she has struck the bus. A female passenger got out of the dark sedan and rushed at us. We were banging on blank's door to try and get someone to let us in, but before we could get in, the girl grabbed me by the pony tail and threw me to the ground. At that time others joined in and all were kicking, punching and stomping on me. and were frantically trying to get the girl and others who had joined in to stop, but the girl still had me by the hair and was smashing my face into the sidewalk and kicking me even more. I fortunately had my purse in between the sidewalk and my face, or I would have lost all my teeth/probably bashed my face in.
In the mean time, blank's roommates/friends came out of the house to try to help and several of them were also thrown to the ground and injured. Once everything cleared, we stumbled into the house to discover blank, blank, and an innocent bystander (who had been sleeping and came out to see what was going on) had all been stabbed. blank's was just a superficial wound, but they got blank in between 2 ribs in the liver. He is set to be released from the hospital today. The other boy who came out to help has a collapsed lung from being stabbed and was also stabbed in the head. He is going to be at Shock Trauma for at least 4 more days. I have a bloody ear, elbows, knees and multiple bruises through out my body. I had actual foot prints on my back from where they were kicking me. Everything hurts, a lot.
I have considered myself a proud homeowner in Federal Hill for over three years. I can't imagine a happier way to have spent my 20's. I refuse to let these needless acts of violence scare me out of my home, or the neighborhood I have come to love so much. This was not an attempted robbery, but instead a blatant act of unprovoked brutal violence.
If you or anyone you know saw or heard ANYTHING, please email me at blank. My blackberry was stolen in the scuffle, so please don't call my cell as I don't have a new one yet. You can also contact Detective Bailey in the Southern District at 410.396.2504 who is handling the case."
Comments
Sounds very similar to the Austin beating death of the latino man who ran into a crowd near Juneteenth celebration. The child he hit was not injured, but the mob beat him to death. Of course the city of Austin tried to downplay its significance.
It's the "trash" that surrounds the area coming into to victimize innocent targets in Fed Hill. It truly makes me upset that this occurs on a daily basis in Baltimore - and it's not only in Fed Hill it's everywhere in MD. Crime in Maryland is sickening and it's a growing problem with no sight in end. The lack of morals, destruction of families, lack of education and not enough people to protect us - yay O'Malley keep up the good work (that's what happens when we elect a Governor who showed no progress in the city as Mayor)! And we have half of these uneducated people to thank b/c these are the criminals voting solely for him b/c of his political party. Ignorance is the enemy and it will continue to be, as the "city" grows into the burbs.
I wonder if President Bushies daughter is still moving in? I am sure if they do, that crime will be a thing of the past in the area...Given how well he has stabilized Iraq, I am sure Federal Hill will be a cake walk!
More than this though, why isn't there a description of the car, the perps, nothing that would be useful in a person helping to crack this story?
And how come this is the only site (besides the email) that has this story listed? I have yet to find it in any major newspaper or police crime report? If the police asked her to reach out to anyone and everyone she knows, shouldn't they do the same? And if everyone was yelling at the car initially, where was everyone when these four people were being stabbed less than a block away? Something isn't right about this.
You peole are funny. How long have some of you poster been in Baltimore? This is borderline SoBO, not Federal Hill. Stop fooling yourselves. The realtor may have told you it is Federal Hill, but it is South Baltimore, and there have been drugs, fights, and poverty there for decades. It won't change and their are ALWAYS two sides to a story. The person attacked probably yelled some obscenity or something. I bet dollars to donuts. Sigh...internet complaining....the most useless thing on the planet.
I'm with Avon. Something seems strange about this. Or maybe I've just received too many emails that I need to verify on Snopes.com (which incidentally, were all hoaxes).
Apparently, the proper way to flee the scene of an accident without being apprehended is to stop less than a block away for some gratuitious violence.
Adam, did you confirm this story with "Det. Bailey"?
light and west is fed hill. west & william is Fed hill. This is not SoBo
I've actually found someone who knows the person involved (yea I know, it sounds like my-sister's-neighbor's-uncle's kind of thing), and I'm not saying it didn't happen. BUT I think the facts of the email might leave out some vital info. Like what what said above, why would the hit-n-runner stop to stab some random people? Especially when there was already a mob a block away yelling at them for hitting the bus. If I were fleeing the scene of a an accident, and there already was a ton of witnesses who saw me hit the bus, the last thing I’d do is stop less than a block away to stab and beat a random group of people.
And why weren't the police in the area already? Yea I know, because this is Baltimore. But hear me out, you have a hit-n-run on a public bus, and a street brawl in progress less than a block away. You’re telling me no one called the cops? Regardless, that area already has a high police presence, and given the anarchy in this two block radius, one would think there would have already been police there, or in route at least.
And why weren't the police in the area already? You have a hit-n-run on a public bus, and a street brawl in progress less than a block away. That area already has a high police pressence, and given the anarchy in this two block radius, one would think there would have already been police in that area, or in route at least.
If anyone thinks this is real, you all are idiots.
How is a hit and run on a city bus and 2 separate fights all within a block not reported on any news outlet?
Checking the MTA bus schedules, it would appear ther are not any bussess running at that hour of the night/morning. If 3 people were stabbed a reporter would be able to confirm the account.
I am the editor of this site and confirmed this report directly with the Baltimore City Police department that is overseeing the investigation prior to publishing the story.
Thank Anne for confirming this.
I understand some of your doubts as to the credibility of the story, but it is in fact 100% real. I live 3 blocks from where this occurred and know the writer of the email personally (not a brothers-sisters-cousins situation.)
The true crying shame is the lack of attention its gotten FROM the media and police at this point.
Why would someone post the detectives info if this wasn't real? And why don't the naysayers just call the guy up before posting how this is a hoax? Jeez.
I live in Canton, and have had to call the cops twice now within the past month. The first was for a robbery I was witnessing that involved a man with a chainsaw attacking three other people. WBAL's news chopper arrived 10 minutes before the cops did.
The second happened Saturday night when my girlfriends and I were approached by a group of shirtless white guys who were obviously on something. One of them was WEARING an orange street cone and was charging all of the smaller trees in the neighborhood until the snapped in half. They broke windows, threw trash cans in the street, and kicked out headlights in cars. I told the cops exactly what street they headed down, and where they could probably find them next. Do you know what 911 said to me? "Maam, where are YOU located?"
This city is a joke. Sheila Dixon is the damn circus ringleader. She's so clueless on camera, I laugh every time.
Regarding Jason's comment:
East of Light and North of Fort is certainly "Federal Hill". This is probably the nicest part of the entire zip code, comprised of $300-$600k homes. Not a whole lot of this sort of thing occurring on the corner of West and William, I can assure you that. And regardless of whether or not the victims yelled and obscenity or not, they were yelling at someone who was fleeing from a hit and run accident! And even more so, does that warrant gang beating and multiple stabbings?
there are crimes that are going un reported.the police shortage is mind blowing and buy the 1st they will agian be working with out a contract.they lied about what they were going to give officer's and more and more leave.its sad this is only the calm before the storm.SUMMER IS COMMING.
I don't think anyone is arguing this happened, living in any major city makes it plausible. However I think everyone is a little apprehensive of the facts of the case and how the writer details them.
Basically, there was a hit and run, a lot of people saw it (and no one got a license plate number by the way), then the person in the car fleeing the scene decides to stop there car and attack a girl in a group of three standing on someone’s front steps. Then a bunch of attacker’s friends come out of nowhere to stab the group of innocent people. Something doesn't make sense here. Why include the information about the unrelated fight? Were those people the eventual stabbers? If so, why would they take the same side of the girl in the car? If not, why include them in the email recount of the facts? The write is dancing around the truth.
While nothing warrants a gang beating and stabbing, I think the “innocent victims” played a bigger part in this incident then that email leads us all to believe. The story would have made more sense if it read "Yea, we ran our mouth to the wrong people and they ended up stabbing us" then "we were just walking home minding our business when I started getting my faced smashed into the curb by a hit and run perpetrator, who a crowd of people didn’t get a license plate number for, and they’re gang of friends that came out of nowhere". It makes the story more believable.
To Avon and any other naysayers:
-It was 2 30am on a Saturday night in Federal Hill.. of course nobody remembered or even thought to get the liscense plate number
-2 white trash dudes jumped out of the car and began attacking the 2 victims
-the white trash girl ran up from behind and dragged the other girl to the ground and began to stomp her
-the stabbings must have occurred in the maylay when a 4th person came out of the vehicle
It was a completely random act of violence.. the unrelated fight was brought up b/c it blocked the street so the car couldnt leave the scene of the hit and run and caused the white trash in the car to retaliate against people who had seen the accident
Here's how I interpreted the story:
1. Group of people walking home from the bars around 1:30am sunday witness a hit and run accident on Light and West St.
2. Said group heads east on West St. to continue home.
3. Before arriving at their destination, the group saw a fight in an intersection that they would have passed to reach where they were going.
4. The group turns around to avoid the situation and heads to another persons house back down the street. Before they can get inside, the car from the hit and run comes towards them
5. Someone in the group says something to the driver of the car which prompts her to get out and attack the female writer of the email (she used her purse to withstand the blows). Then when the group tried to intervene, other members of the vehicle involved in the hit and run get out and go after the rest of the group and another neighbor who heard the commotion. When the dust settled and the people from the hit and run returned to the car they fled.
If anyone has ever been involved in an attack such as this, they would know that it is easier said than done to obtain information about what exactly is going on. It all happens very quickly. We know the driver of the car was female, the car was a black or dark colored sedan and that there were others in the car as well, carrying knives. If the writer of the email had more specific information regarding the incident, all of this wouldn't be necessary. But because of the lack of info, she has reached out to her friends and the community to see if anyone else (perhaps a bystander at the hit and run) saw anything else.
Why no media? Probably because there are often several homicides a day. So anything that is not a homicide is minor news. When people get robbed at gun point, or assaulted it almost never makes the news.
Man, that sucks. I feel so bad for the victims. What the hell is wrong with people? There is so much anger in Baltimore City, and the police and courts don't seem to be able to stop it.
Since their egress from the scene of their initial hit and run crime scene was impede by a random fight in progress, the WT decided to jump out of their car and beat a group of people who had nothing to do with anything? I can see the conversation in the car play out:
WT guy 1: Drive man drive!! You just hit a bus and there’s a bunch of people yelling at us to stay!
WT guy 2: Awe man we can’t go down this street!! There’s a fight in progress!!
WT guy 1: Stop the car!! Since there’s a crowd of people behind us and a fight in front of us, let’s get out of the car right here and beat the crap out of those people going into their house while we wait for the street to clear up!!
WT guy2: Yea, that sounds like a great it idea!! Since we can’t escape from our initial crime scene, we might as well get a quick beating in before the cops come in response to the initial hit and run!!
WT guy1: yea that’s a great idea!! And since both directions of our escape route are blocked, this is probably the next best thing we could do!!
Come on. Don’t sit here and tell me the “innocent victims” played no part in the WT getting out of the car. I’ve seen this scenario played out plenty of times. I guarantee the “innocent victims” ran their mouth and the WT in the car cashed it. Now they are trying to do damage control blaming it on the neighborhood. Right.
What I don't understand is why this "blog" was posted as a "top news" story on the Examiner homepage when there are no facts to back it up. Why didn't the Examiner interview the victims and talk to the police? Right now it's all hearsay, which only brings up more questions.
* Who? Blank, Blank's cousin, and a complete stranger also named Blank.
* What? Stabbing
* Where? William and West St.
* When? 1:30
* Why? Argument
* How? Blank
Adam Meister will be doing a follow-up post. In the meantime, the police and victims would like to encourage any witnesses to come forward.
Examiner.com is a separate entity from The Examiner newspaper, though we are owned by the same parent company. Our Examiners are neither bloggers nor journalists; they are local experts and guides.
Avon is showing his naivete with regard to the "logic" of the average Baltimore trash.
The failure of his logic is that he's assuming the garbage attackers in this incident would have a second thought about attacking people who "had nothing to do with anything" (nevermind the fact that they were witnesses to the hit and run OOOPS read slower).
The fact is, Baltimore trash like the attackers in this incident have NO FEAR of police, thereby making this beatdown no big deal.
And SO WHAT if the victims in this case mouthed off to the garbage in the car? It doesn't justify this or any act of violence, and your insinuations to the contrary are a sad commentary on this garbage-filled town.
Don't give me that it was "2:30 am" and that's why no license plate was written down. Have you ever been on a public bus when it was hit by a car...probably not because you probably have never take public transportation. But let me clue you in on something, even if EVEEEEEERYONE in the area was drunk, the bus driver would have written it down. You know why? So they're not liable for any damage to the bus. And I'm sure MTA would have been immediately notified with that license plate number when the driver called it in. So as far as no one getting the license plate number of the hit-n-runners, I don't by it.
What about the local television networks? They would jump all over this as an exclusive if contacted. Why haven't the involved parties called them? It would certainly be a nice break from the stories on free boob jobs and whatnot, and I'm sure they'd appreciate getting the jump on the print media. If this is actually a verifiable story, that is.
I never justified their beat down for mouthing off to the “garbage”. I don’t agree with that outcome at all. No one deserves to get stabbed, especially for saying something.
However, my argument is that the writer is hiding something. I have heard, not through this email, but from the actual girl retelling the story, she was mistake for someone else and that’s why they were beat. Where is that in this email? No where. You know why? Because she’s not being truthful and she’s leaving out certain facts that otherwise wouldn’t portray her and her friends as “innocent” victims.
Go back and really re-read the email. Really apply some logic. Ignoring the fact that NO ONE got the license plate number (read my post about that) something isn’t right about her retelling of the facts
The one that jumped out at me was “Everyone on the street at the time was yelling at the driver to stop because she was attempting to flee the accident”. Seriously, everyone? That’s what little kids say when they get in trouble. Well everyone else was doing it!! Which always means no one else was doing it, just you. And you’re just upset you got caught. I bet there wasn’t even a hit and run. I bet it was a fight outside the bar that carried over down the street.
This is how I see it going down. The “innocents” were the typical 20-something drunk Baltimoreans who think they can run their mouth to anyone because they’re “tough guys” when they’re drinking. They come out of the bar, and get in a verbal argument with some other drunks. Nothing comes of it so they continue walking down the street. They get to their house and a car pulls up. Low and behold, it’s the same group as the ones they mouthed off to down the street with more people than initially encountered. Words are exchanged, the “garbage” get out of the car and beat the “innocents”. Licking their wounds and upset off they got beat so bad they call the cops and blame it on the “poor” neighborhood.
I’ve seen plenty of people get a beating in my life, and 99.9% deserve it. Sure there are situations where that one innocent person gets a beating, but the coward that does that would most assuredly do so without BOTH ends of the street blocked by a CROWD of people, and especially not after hitting a city bus.
HAHAHAH the bus driver would have just written it down? Right, because I'm sure that the car casually sat there and gave everyone enough time to write out the digits.
And yes, I can safely say that "EVEEEEEERYONE" in the area at 1:30 AM (NOT "2:30", again, read slower) definitely was drunk. If you've ever been in this area on a Saturday night you'd know the same. This further lowers the odds of anyone getting the license plate. You think the bus driver would be that ambitious to involve themselves in this situation? Guess what. In a hit and run, THEY AREN'T LIABLE, SO THEY DON'T CARE. Just like you and everyone else in this city.
What is evident in your post is a little bit of classism, made obvious by your "probably not because you probably have never take public transportation". You're enjoying this because you think a few Fed Hill yuppies caught a beatdown because they told some hit-n-run common trash what they deserved to hear.
What you are too short-sighted to realize is that filth like the pieces of garbage responsible for this attack will attack anyone, including yourself, and your indifference to this type of violence will come home to roost for you, as it does for everyone unlucky enough to live in this city.
“Witness (not lebron): To Avon and any other naysayers:
-It was 2 30am on a Saturday night in Federal Hill.. of course nobody remembered or even thought to get the liscense (sic) plate number”
I was replying to Witness, not citing the story. Hence the quotes around 2:30. But I guess you need to RE-READ the posts. And as far as EVERYONE being drunk, I can’t even begin to refute your absolute failure in an attempt to make that a rational argument. Seriously.
"HAHAHAH the bus driver would have just written it down? Right, because I'm sure that the car casually sat there and gave everyone enough time to write out the digits." AG5-154G. It took me 2 seconds to write down seven numbers. Do you really need more than 5 to memorize them? That’s pathetic.
And as far as RE-READING the story, yes the car did stay there as the writer retold the facts:
“By the time we got to blank's house, the driver who had struck the bus had turned down West Street and was attempting to get away. Because there was a fight blocking the street, she could not so she reversed toward Light Street .”
The innocents were yelling at the car for hitting the bus. They then went down the street, debated in the street (which implies they took some time to come to an agreement), then the car turned down the street to leave the scene. So unless the innocents walk at an incredibly ridiculous speed, the car left the seen AFTER them. As far as I’m concerned, the time it takes a group of three people to walk down a street and debate what their next move is, is enough time for the bus drive to turn his neck and write down the license plate.
Finally, the bus driver does care. You know why? BECAUSE HE WANTS TO KEEP HIS JOB!! When he returns to the garage with a banged-up bus and a complaints from passengers that “their back hurt” from an accident resulting from his route, you’re damn right he’s going to have a license plate number of the car that hit him and ran. If you think otherwise, you really need to talk to a lawyer.
I am not indifference to this violence. If they were truly innocent, which I most definitely do not think they were, I would be more than compassionate to their plight. I just don’t want to hear some drunk crying because they caught the wrong end of a beating where they were willing participants
Yawn. We're all very impressed with your short-term memory, Avon. Question though - when you memorized that seven digit combination, had you been drinking for 5 hours and were you looking at a moving target on a darkened street? Riiiiiight.
There is no point in getting into when/wheres with this, because clearly the facts aren't available. What we do know is, yes, most likely these folks were drunk. Yes, this carful of trash hit a bus. Yes, the victims MAYBE mouthed off to them.
Does this make them deserving of a violent stabbing and brutal beating? Does this make them "willing particpants", as you put it? Not on your life, not for a minute. If you think so, maybe you're the one who should talk to a lawyer.
The problem here is, people in this town are so used to violence, that an incident like this is no big deal. There is no premium on human life, and it doesn't appear that this is going to change. Look what's happening in the schools. Look at the fate of INNOCENT people in this town all the time. They are getting ground under the wheels, and violent criminals regard Baltimore City as a prime hunting ground. Read the police blotter. Do your research.
This town is a mess, violent crime is getting worse, and permissive attitudes toward it are the reason why.
"had you been drinking for 5 hours and were you looking at a moving target on a darkened street? Riiiiiight"
No, but I could have. And I’ve done so in the past. Fortunately for me I don’t turn into a vegetable that can’t function when I’m drinking. But what I’m really concerned about is that you’re making the ability to read a license plate this difficult a task. Really I am. I’m dumbfounded that this is really that hard for you after drinking. Honestly, if you can’t read a license plate after drinking, you should think about picking up a new hobby. Perhaps proofreader. You seem to enjoy RE-READING a lot…
And your assumption that EVERYONE was drunk and that EVERYONE had been drinking for five hours is really illogical. Honestly, I can’t even begin to attack that argument. It’s the worst thing I have ever read. EVERYONE was drunk. Not one person sober, or slightly intoxicated at all? Really?
Well, since you decided to point your self-righteous finger as a means to end your discussion with me, I will now stop dealing with you. I’d like to say it was fun, but it wasn’t. Not at all.
But I leave you with this: If they truly were walking down the street minding their own business, I am appalled that some one could do that to them. But if they did get into a drunken fight with someone outside a bar, as I surmise, they are willing participants in any action that arises thereafter. And they need to deal with the repercussions of their actions, good or bad. That’s life.
But the real problem with this city: lack of culpability. No one is willing to accept it they did something wrong. It’s someone else’s fault, not mine. It’s like sticking your finger in the electrical socket when you’re a kid. Your father doesn’t punish the socket by turning off the electricity. That would be stupid. The electrical socket was doing what it was supposed to, the kid wasn’t. The kid is culpable for his action. The father should ask the kid if he learned his lesson. If he did, great. If he didn’t, well then I’m sure natural selection will one day catch up with that kid.
Avon get a life!!You are a loser! You've spent all day on this topic! Who are you to judge people you don't know!! I happen to know them and I know they aren't the people you are trying to make them be! I don't know why you are trying to make yourself so high and mighty!Who do you think you are? Just hope and pray something like this doesn't ever happen to you. I almost hope it does then maybe you'll understand what kind of pain and suffering they have been through. Shame on you!!
Already has. And I deserved it. But I didn't try to blame it on the city, or lack of police, or poor neighborhoods or a poor school system or global warming or anything else.
I mouthed off to the wrong person and I deserved what I got. And I learned from it. Hopefully they'll do the same.
Evidently Avon does not get out much. Fed Hill on a Saturday night is a drunken mess. Many of these folks drink their faces off on a Saturday night. No one else is surprised that the license plate wasn't grabbed, and no one should be. Go ask a cop how often they get license plate numbers in a hit and run in the middle of the day, let alone on a dark street at night.
"But if they did get into a drunken fight with someone outside a bar, as I surmise, they are willing participants in any action that arises thereafter." - So by your logic, it's cool that these people were stabbed because they drunkenly yelled at someone on the street? Please.
Good sense would say that you keep your mouth closed on the streets at night in this town, but BY NO MEASURE does getting a little rowdy or loud make you deserving of a stabbing and beating.
God, only in Baltimore could someone have such a cavalier attitude toward something like this.
Good luck out there pal, you'll need it.
Dear JL (who asks why no real names are used in the article).
Good to know that people in Vermont, or Switzerland or wherever you live read the Examiner. Here in B'more witness intimidation is a perfected artform. I imagine even these kids in South Baltimore know how to do it.
Yea, you should keep your drunk mouth shut. Is that really hard to understand? If you don't want to deal with the consequences, don't run your mouth. Just because you're drunk, it doesn't give you carte blanche to do as you please.
I would love to live in your utopian society Willy, where everyone holds hands and dances in the grass. But the truth is, as much as you don't grasp this concept, the real world doesn't allow you to act like a drunken idiot whenever you damn well please. And just because you "drink your face off" every Saturday night, it doesn't give you the right to do whatever you want free from your actions.
Is this really that hard of a concept for you to understand Willy? Don’t act like a drunken idiot and no one will bother you. Let me guess...are you a 23 year old Towson graduate with a major in mass/com trying to assert themselves in society after suddenly realizing they spent the past four years and $40,000 daddy’s money only to amount to nothing. You really need a wake up kid, the rael world doesn’t operate the way you think it should. Honestly, I WISH it was the way you wanted it, all hugs and kisses like. But the truth is it doesn’t. And the sad fact is this is the way it is. So “ it's cool that these people were stabbed because they drunkenly yelled at someone on the street”.? No, it’s not cool, but it’s the way it is.
And while “BY NO MEASURE does getting a little rowdy or loud make you deserving of a stabbing and beating” may be true, but when you do so, you do so at your own expense. In this world, not your perfect society, you risk someone carry a knife not appreciating your rowdy/loud behavior. And then guess what?
I was forwarded this email by a friend who said the author worked with someone in his office. Since I live in Canton and was mugged last year - and we all remember the Zach Sowers attack - I also looked for a mention of it on the news wires and found nothing. However, I also found a few things odd about it. It seemed strange to me that the author would write about standing in the street debating where to go and not write about calling 911 as soon as they saw the hit and run. Exactly when did anyone in this large group of people call the police?
After I was mugged in Canton last year - also at 1:30 AM, while with a group of people and after we had been drinking - police were on the scene within two minutes. The officer was everything I'd have hoped from a member of the police force. I can't imagine it would be that much different in Federal Hill with the bars letting out there and the homeowners who have revitalized the city on the streets. Perhaps there is less police presence in poorer areas of the city but I've seen them everywhere in Fells Point and Canton at 1:30 AM.
I also think the author probably colored the facts of the story to make herself and her friends seem more innocent, but they don't deserve any kind of beatdown for it. I've seen enough crap in this city to know that you observe, call 911, and stay the hell out of it. Every time there's a fight in the street in front of my house at 2 AM, you can bet I'm watching it from the window with the phone in my hand, not spilling out onto the street like some of my neighbors.
This is a tough city to try to be a Good Samaritan in. If someone were really getting beaten and stabbed in front of my home there is very little I could or would do about it that wouldn't risk my own life, all 115 lbs of woman who has never punched someone in her life. It's like road rage - you never know how unhinged - or armed - the lunatic tailgating and cutting you off is, so you learn to not react and let the cops get him.
What I see more and more, though, is people like Avon here trying to blame the victim as much as possible so as to mentally reassure themselves that "it won't happen to me because *I* wouldn't x, y or z." We can all take precautions but unless you want to live like a hermit, sometimes crime gets you. And even though you can blame the rape victim for wearing a skimpy dress the fact is that the guilty one is always the one who elevated a situation to violence. Our blaming victims only gives the attackers excuses to keep doing it ... and sometimes, I'd bet, even gives the victims reason to blur the edges of their stories so that these crimes get the attention they deserve.
I hope everyone involved turns out to be okay and that the attackers are caught and brought to justice. And as a city resident, I hope that we eventually elect a government which is committed to put a stop to crime, because it's not this one.
what a trashy city full of low class people.
Because Avon is trying to once again turn this into a class war, this is the last post he'll get as a response from me. Rest assured all of your assumptions about me are completely and thoroughly wrong, not to mention completely irrelevant to this discussion. A word of advice though, think before you decide you know who you are talking to.
Just because you ran your mouth and got jacked for it doesn't mean that every drunk victim on the street on a Saturday night did the same.
Never in a single post did I hint that the world should be "all hugs and kisses like" (seriously? hahaha). I'm well aware of how the "real world" works, in fact, that's exactly why we're having this discussion. You think that an act of CRIMINAL violence is justified over a drunken arguement, and I think that is idiotic and a symptom of a failing city. OF COURSE I KNOW THAT'S THE WAY IT IS, I'M SAYING THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM AND OUR CITY IS FAILING US IF THIS IS AS COMMON AS IT IS IN BALTIMORE.
Not all cities are like this. I know because I've lived in others. Have you Avon?
Keep your assumptions to yourself.
Class war? Nothing about what I said goes anywhere near a class war. Do you even know what a class war is? Or have you been reading The Communist Manifesto and are merely trying to regurgitate that in an attempt to sound intellectual?
And yes I have lived in DC, New York, Philly and AC for the better part of my life. So I’m well aware of the perils of city live.
And I never said criminal violence is an appropriate response to a drunken idiot, I said it shouldn’t be an unexpected outcome. Why, full well-knowing the dangers involved living in a city, would you get into a “drunken mess” every Saturday night, so much so to the point that you can’t even read a license plate? You might as well put a sign on your chest that reads: “I’m drunk feel free to exploit this”.
My point is this: the 20-somethings that move to Baltimore forget this is a major city and act like nothing is going to happen to them because of the college-like atmosphere. It is a major city and with every major city there is crime. So everyone needs to slow down on the drinking into a drunken mess, be aware of your surroundings, and watch out for each other. I NEVER let anyone one of my female friends walk home by themselves after a night at the bar. Why? Because I know we live in a major city and something like this can happen to anyone.
"A police spokesman described her account as largely accurate but said investigators believe the altercation began during a dispute and was not a random attack, as characterized in the e-mail."
Hmmm....it seems like the more that comes out about this incident, the more I'm right.
I hate to say I told you so, but, hell, I told you so.
I never disputed the fact that words could have been exchanged prior to the attack, in fact, I've acknowledged it in several of my posts. You really are missing the point and should try some reading comprehension. It's impossible to try to have an intelligent arguement with you, because you don't read very well.
The quote from the PD in the story above changes nothing. The point is, with or without a drunken arguement taking place, this kind of attack shouldn't be regarded as just another inconvenience of city living. It wasn't a fight, it was a brutal knife attack, and basically, attempted murder. When you use a knife against someone else, that goes above and beyond the standard fight and you are using lethal force.
And for the record, I don't get smashed and wander around in the street like an idiot. If you had bothered to read the post thoroughly, it said that's what Fed Hill is like. I don't live there, but I've seen it. It isn't any different than any other post-college neighborhood in any major American city - people out late at night drunk, in large numbers. You said you had spent time in Philly, so you would know that Manayunk is basically a hillier version of Federal Hill. Only difference is, Manayunk doesn't have locals mugging and stabbing the bar patrons at anywhere NEAR the level it happens here. Sure, there are drunken brawls, but in Baltimore, the violence is deadlier, more common, and more tolerated as a way of life.
This is the crux of the issue: in Baltimore, there is a hightened level of violence in these kinds of attacks. Look at the Zach Sowers case - rather than just robbing him once he had been KO'd and was no longer able to defend himself, they decided to viciously stomp him to death rather than taking the cash and running. Here, instead of jumping the alleged trash talkers and throwing fists, they decided to throw in a few potentially fatal knife wounds.
My problem is, how in the hell can we continuously read about this stuff, and we never see any real concern or change from the people in charge in this town? Why in God's name would anyone stay here, when you can enjoy far safer city life in any other city in the country, except for possibly Detroit?
So now you’re fine with the fact that a fight resulted from a drunken argument, but you're just upset that the guy pulled a knife? Interesting point. I guess from here on out we should all establish ground rules for fighting within the city. No knives, no guns, no bricks, and no bottles…
I’m not debating the veracity of the attack or the fact no fight should ever escalate to the point of taking another’s life; I’m making one point: Don’t get into drunken fights. Because people do really stupid things when they’re drunk and you never know what the other guy is capable of.
Regardless of how the fight/argument happened, NO ONE "deserves" to get beaten or stabbed (what's up with the "99.9% deserve it" comment?) I’m just shocked at how little media attention this incident has attracted.
I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS STORY.
Beefloaf, it's a bona fide story. Now the rest of the newsworld is picking it up. I live right down the street and know the victims involved. It's scary, but true.
I live close by and don't know the victims, but I believe the story completely. We've had a lot of violent and strange happenings in the past few months that haven't been touched by the media. I'm no longer shocked. And we live in what's considered The Prime location in Historic Federal Hill. I'm a homeowner, too, and don't want it publicized. But, at the same time, how else can we stop the crime from happening? It's a catch-22.
I know for a fact this story is not true.
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