Not in my immediate neighborhood, but not far away, just across the street from my Walmart, stands the Walgreens mentioned in this carjacking / police chase / armed standoff story. http://www.click2houston.com/news/breaking-swat-officers-surround-walgreens-in-kemah/35154970 About 10 minutes south of where the above chase began, was yet another car chase. The suspect lived in that case, and was arrested. http://www.click2houston.com/news/s...lice-on-highspeed-chase-in-la-marque/35156274 There was another incident this morning up in Houston, where police were shot at, and another in San Antonio, where someone was shooting at passersby. I really don't know what is going on lately. It seems that the bad guys have no respect for the law anymore. I wonder where they learned that?
This has become such a common occurrence now, it's hard not to be numb to it! All these incidents just seem to run together nowadays. I got your tongue-in-cheek question, about where they learned it, Diane. I would venture a guess that they got their warped sense of reality, along with their sense of entitlement, from their parents, or if not them, from society at large. I don't know how we fix it.
Diane. This is an average day in Orlando, FL. I guess it is all the big cities but things seem to be out of control.
The entire state of Maine averages about twenty-five murders a year, mostly in the southern part of the state, and Maine has a high percentage of gun ownership. In my town, I think we have had one murder in the fifteen years that I've been here, and that was a shaken baby death. There are a lot of assaults (although still not comparing to most other parts of New England) because there is a tradition, among a lot of people, of handling things yourself rather than calling the police.
Wow, @Dave Sun That's incredible. I know Miami also has a lot of crime, but do you think all of the larger cities in Florida do, as well? I mean ones like Tampa and Clearwater, St. Augustine, and Jacksonville? I was staying down in the Clearwater area before, when there were riots in St. Pete. I don't recall what they were about, but I think they were in response to police activity, much like the black lives matter crowd. By the way, re: the one I posted, the guy involved in the police standoff in Kemah (the one closest to my home), was on a one-man crime spree coming straight up Highway 146 (which is the closest highway to me) that whole day. Apparently early that morning, he got into a fight with a friend, both had guns, shot at one another, he ended up killing the friend. He then proceeded (probably after using up what drugs he had) to drive from Texas City up to League City, went into a freestanding Emergency Room, robbed them of drugs at gunpoint, left there, carjacked someone, police were notified and looking for him, and the police chase ensued. He drove to Walgreens, plowed the stolen vehicle into the pole outside the front door, held the gun to customers' heads, and threatened to kill them. Some escaped, but a few, and the pharmacist, were stuck in the building/store, and he apparently took a bunch of RX pills, and about an hour after he entered the store, he shot and killed himself. What a nightmare. I know it's not a very Christian thing to say, but I wish people like that, if they're not going to seek help, would simply kill themselves, rather than endangering, harming, traumatizing and possibly killing so many others along the way.
There has been a larger number of killings this year and the residents are up in arms about the violence in their areas. The crimes are bolder and as it was mentioned, there is no respect for the law. It is sad when a person who is not happy with their life decides to injury others and then take their own lives.
I'm all for getting treatment if that's possible, but there are many who simply don't want it, and would prefer to drink/drug, regardless of the impact it has on others. Addiction does result in a lot of crime, since obviously those who are in that lifestyle aren't likely to pop out of bed, shower, and head to work everyday, drive carefully, take care of their children, etc. Combining that with the disregard and disdain for the law, as well as for others, can be very dangerous. I haven't looked into the crime stats in Houston or Galveston (I live about smack dab in the middle of the two) for this year so far, but it does seem as if violence, as well as crime in general, have increased. Even in my little neighborhood, off away from the city, and businesses, crime has increased substantially, and we're all on alert and are taking more precautions than usual.