So, yesterday I was at Borders because I had finals and I had an hour to kill before my next class started and as usual I go to Borders. I mean what better way to spend my free time than reading right? Plus it’s only a block away from school and it’s just convenient in many ways. So, I was there and after a while I decided to step out but for some reason something said, “Wait you got a book to read.” (Which is lucky cuz I would have been right at the corner on state street where this incident happened and you’ll read in a moment why I was lucky that I wasn’t on State and Randolph). And I was like I do? So, I turned around and went upstairs. I walked up to the third floor and opened a graffiti book and I heard four or five, I don’t really recall, shots. My first thought was gunshots? Nah, not here on State Street.
See the thing is that you have to understand where I came from or more like where I grew up. In the neighborhood I grew up in we had nightly drive-by’s. I’m serious too. It wasn’t unusual for me and my brother to be sitting in the backroom of our house with our mom on the floor. We would sit here and my mom would talk on the phone to her friend and me and my brother would be playing. It was all natural things to do. I was one of those kids that if I heard a loud crack, whether it was a gunshot a car backfiring or a firecracker, that would drop to the floor. I think what the saddest part was that it wasn’t for fear. It was just second nature. I still remember one time my brother and I were sitting at our kitchen table eating and playing and my mom was in the kitchen cooking. (My dad was at work) Then my grandma came running into our home and closed the door. She ran into the kitchen in Spanish saying, “Down, under the tables. It’s a drive-by.” My brother and I casually grabbed our toys and food and sat under our table eating. As we sat down gun shots rang outside and I could hear shouting and cars and squealing tires. My brother was playing with his hot wheels and I sat there trying to feed my food to my Barbie. I could hear my mom and grandma hiding behind the kitchen counter arguing about the proper way of making rice. This was the life I grew up in.
Still, year after year my Dad made sure that we kept “moving up”. Each time we moved the neighborhoods got better and now I live where I live. I live in suburbia only minutes from Chicago. So, this second nature of dropping to the floor has vanished and replaced by confusion or doubt. So, when I stood there yesterday with a book in my hands and heard those four shots I didn’t believe there were gunshots until a man came running to the window in front of me saying, “Someone just got shot!” The two men next to me and me immediately peeked out. And, yes. There in the middle of State Street laid a man and I could see about ten cops.
I swear about only seconds later the man was taken away by the ambulance and another ambulance came and more and more 5-O’s kept showing up and the street was completely filled with them. I could even see like three detective cars. I was like O.O. “Damn, the Po-po work fast.”
Within a span of two three minutes. About three blocks of State Street was closed. Traffic was being moved as well as civilians. The injured cop and the man shot were taken away and the Caution rope was put up. I took pictures from Borders and walked out. I stood by the corner where all the construction workers stood. This is true and I’m not lying about this. The construction workers all stood there in a line pulled out there lunches and causally talked about the shooting and what had happened. So, it was from them that I gained all of my information. I casually stood near and heard their whole story.
So, what had happened was that a man was walking down State Street waving a knife and then grabbed hold of a hostage. The police tried to negotiate with him but weren’t going anywhere so they shot him, which makes perfect sense. The man had a knife and a hostage. I crossed the street to go back to school because by then I only had like five minutes before class started. I stood behind other people on the next corner and listened to them begin rumors. I laughed and walked away. I got to school in less than a minute and the security had jacked up! There was like four security guards glaring at everyone that walked in. I passed by them and swiped in. I stood behind them and nonchalantly waited for the elevator and listened to their conversation. (I gathered all of my information the way Altair would, lmao).
Apparently the man that was shot is one of the usual homeless guys that walked State Street demanding money. So, I got onto the elevator with a lady and a man. They were criticizing the police for shooting a man down in State Street during lunch hour. Then they began making some really ignorant comments and it pissed me off. This cop who opened fire just saved a hostage’s life! What the fuck were they complaining about!? So, I glared at them and said, “He had a knife and a hostage. That’s why they shot him.” They looked at me with these stupid faces and then the lady said, “Well they had better had shot him. Police these days…” and she continued criticizing the cops but she did this complete flip flop and still said they did a bad job even though they had done the right thing. I mean I understand that sometimes cops don’t do the right thing, since I myself have been at that end because of my race and color. But, shit man. This lady and man were pissing me off. I was going to go off on her but I literally bit my tongue and walked off when the elevator door opened. I just couldn’t stand them.
Then I was reading and watching the news I saw that the reporters and people were criticizing the police for having shot the man and his partner. They don’t understand. This was a life of death situation. Seriously, the homeless people walking around are dangerous most of the time if they’re off their rocker. I completely support this cop’s decision to shoot. And… well I’ll stop before this rant gets even bigger than it already is. Huff. Sorry for ranting. I had to get it off my chest.
I just wanted to tell everyone this story. I don’t know why, but I did. Oh and here are some links to the actual news about this incident. Just to make sure you don’t think I’m lying. Be safe and happy. Caifox324 is going to go play some x-box now to blow off her steam.


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