Another shooting near the National Zoo

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to bother you, but I'd love to know.

I'm sure that bothering me is the least of your concerns. But, here are two posts from this thread:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/240/379308.page#5054348
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/240/379308.page#5054701

Thank you, as I am interested in your solutions to the problem. I'll read the links as soon as I'm able. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to bother you, but I'd love to know.

I'm sure that bothering me is the least of your concerns. But, here are two posts from this thread:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/240/379308.page#5054348
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/240/379308.page#5054701

Thank you, as I am interested in your solutions to the problem. I'll read the links as soon as I'm able. Thanks again.

PP here. I read them and I do recall these posts. I was, however, hoping for something a bit more concrete, beyond let's monitor social sites and make a list of lessons learned.

If you were chief, what measures would you implement for next year's event?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to bother you, but I'd love to know.

I'm sure that bothering me is the least of your concerns. But, here are two posts from this thread:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/240/379308.page#5054348
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/240/379308.page#5054701

Thank you, as I am interested in your solutions to the problem. I'll read the links as soon as I'm able. Thanks again.

PP here. I read them and I do recall these posts. I was, however, hoping for something a bit more concrete, beyond let's monitor social sites and make a list of lessons learned.

If you were chief, what measures would you implement for next year's event?

You must not have read very carefully. The event is not for another year. There is no reason to act now while information about the event is still being gathered. A youth was arrested for the shooting. A full report on what the police learned from him has not been made public. I also do not have access to police internal accounts which would reveal which of their procedures failed and which were successful. If I were chief, I would wait until I have that information as well as advise from other stakeholders. Then, I would implement appropriate procedures. I know that many posters such as yourself want an immediate answer. It would be foolish to make decisions now that do not have to be made now.

A somewhat unrelated, but still somewhat related matter involves the groups of kids who were involved. The original media reports focused on two groups from SE. The Post called them "gangs", but I am not sure that it the proper term. DC tends to have "crews" rather than "gangs". So, I'm just going to use the neutral term "groups". Anyway, the Post described how Good Hope Road was the divider between these two groups' territories. The guy who was arrested for doing the shooting is from SW. So, it could be that the April 14 and April 21 incidents were not related.

At any rate, more knowledge is almost always better then less knowledge. There is no imperative to make decisions this week. Why would you want to?

[Anonymous]

The Post called them "gangs", but I am not sure that it the proper term. DC tends to have "crews" rather than "gangs". So, I'm just going to use the neutral term "groups". Anyway, the Post described how Good Hope Road was the divider between these two groups' territories.

Gangs, crews, "groups" -- all euphemisms for thuggish crimimals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The Post called them "gangs", but I am not sure that it the proper term. DC tends to have "crews" rather than "gangs". So, I'm just going to use the neutral term "groups". Anyway, the Post described how Good Hope Road was the divider between these two groups' territories.

Gangs, crews, "groups" -- all euphemisms for thuggish crimimals.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate to bother you, but I'd love to know.

I'm sure that bothering me is the least of your concerns. But, here are two posts from this thread:

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/240/379308.page#5054348
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/240/379308.page#5054701

Thank you, as I am interested in your solutions to the problem. I'll read the links as soon as I'm able. Thanks again.

PP here. I read them and I do recall these posts. I was, however, hoping for something a bit more concrete, beyond let's monitor social sites and make a list of lessons learned.

If you were chief, what measures would you implement for next year's event?

You must not have read very carefully. The event is not for another year. There is no reason to act now while information about the event is still being gathered. A youth was arrested for the shooting. A full report on what the police learned from him has not been made public. I also do not have access to police internal accounts which would reveal which of their procedures failed and which were successful. If I were chief, I would wait until I have that information as well as advise from other stakeholders. Then, I would implement appropriate procedures. I know that many posters such as yourself want an immediate answer. It would be foolish to make decisions now that do not have to be made now.

A somewhat unrelated, but still somewhat related matter involves the groups of kids who were involved. The original media reports focused on two groups from SE. The Post called them "gangs", but I am not sure that it the proper term. DC tends to have "crews" rather than "gangs". So, I'm just going to use the neutral term "groups". Anyway, the Post described how Good Hope Road was the divider between these two groups' territories. The guy who was arrested for doing the shooting is from SW. So, it could be that the April 14 and April 21 incidents were not related.

At any rate, more knowledge is almost al
ways better then less knowledge. There is no imperative to make decisions this week. Why would you want to?

With any and all due respect, there is NO "immediate answer." Let's not kid ourselves. The expanding teen rage and resulting violence is only one consequence of deep rooted severe problems that have been ignored far too long. Slapping another bandaid onto a hemoraging generation may be better than nothing, but it will never really reduce the bloodshed, nor the trauma inflicted on Washington by its own.

[Anonymous]

Neglected kids often become angry kids. What they do with that anger, or how they express it, may differ from person to person, family to family, and community to community.

Absentee parenting isn't parenting.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:
With any and all due respect, there is NO "immediate answer." Let's not kid ourselves. The expanding teen rage and resulting violence is only one consequence of deep rooted severe problems that have been ignored far too long. Slapping another bandaid onto a hemoraging generation may be better than nothing, but it will never really reduce the bloodshed, nor the trauma inflicted on Washington by its own.

I agree with you. If the zoo gets sealed off, it's probably just going to push the violence somewhere else. That's probably fine with most of the crowd posting here, but very short-sighted.

According to media reports, the 14-year-old arrested for the shooting had over 100 absences from school this year. Legislation introduced by David Catania last year and passed by the Council (and signed into law) requires students who are 14 - 17 be referred to social services after 15 absences. It would be worth looking into what actions, if any, social services took. This was clearly a child in need of intervention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neglected kids often become angry kids. What they do with that anger, or how they express it, may differ from person to person, family to family, and community to community.

Absentee parenting isn't parenting.

So it's reasonable to restructure an event that has been drawing a lot of angry teenagers, who choose to express their anger through shootings and stabbing surrounding the event in recent years. The event should be ticketed, limited to younger kids or cancelled altogether.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
With any and all due respect, there is NO "immediate answer." Let's not kid ourselves. The expanding teen rage and resulting violence is only one consequence of deep rooted severe problems that have been ignored far too long. Slapping another bandaid onto a hemoraging generation may be better than nothing, but it will never really reduce the bloodshed, nor the trauma inflicted on Washington by its own.

I agree with you. If the zoo gets sealed off, it's probably just going to push the violence somewhere else. That's probably fine with most of the crowd posting here, but very short-sighted.

According to media reports, the 14-year-old arrested for the shooting had over 100 absences from school this year. Legislation introduced by David Catania last year and passed by the Council (and signed into law) requires students who are 14 - 17 be referred to social services after 15 absences. It would be worth looking into what actions, if any, social services took. This was clearly a child in need of intervention.

Yes, parents who want to take their young children to the zoo and Woodley Park neighbors. Just suck it up for the greater good of One City and leave the zoo area as the playground of choice for angry, violent teen criminals. Otherwise, they'll just take their guns and knives elsewhere.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
With any and all due respect, there is NO "immediate answer." Let's not kid ourselves. The expanding teen rage and resulting violence is only one consequence of deep rooted severe problems that have been ignored far too long. Slapping another bandaid onto a hemoraging generation may be better than nothing, but it will never really reduce the bloodshed, nor the trauma inflicted on Washington by its own.

I agree with you. If the zoo gets sealed off, it's probably just going to push the violence somewhere else. That's probably fine with most of the crowd posting here, but very short-sighted.

According to media reports, the 14-year-old arrested for the shooting had over 100 absences from school this year. Legislation introduced by David Catania last year and passed by the Council (and signed into law) requires students who are 14 - 17 be referred to social services after 15 absences. It would be worth looking into what actions, if any, social services took. This was clearly a child in need of intervention.

Yes, parents who want to take their young children to the zoo and Woodley Park neighbors. Just suck it up for the greater good of One City and leave the zoo area as the playground of choice for angry, violent teen criminals. Otherwise, they'll just take their guns and knives elsewhere.

You act like parents and residents elsewhere in the city are happy to have violence in their communities. But, guess what? They aren't any different than the folks in Woodley Park. You can try to act like the rest of the city doesn't exist and mock "One City", but that's a short-sighted approach. What is there to stop the kids from simply choosing another day of the year to go to the Zoo?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
With any and all due respect, there is NO "immediate answer." Let's not kid ourselves. The expanding teen rage and resulting violence is only one consequence of deep rooted severe problems that have been ignored far too long. Slapping another bandaid onto a hemoraging generation may be better than nothing, but it will never really reduce the bloodshed, nor the trauma inflicted on Washington by its own.

I agree with you. If the zoo gets sealed off, it's probably just going to push the violence somewhere else. That's probably fine with most of the crowd posting here, but very short-sighted.

According to media reports, the 14-year-old arrested for the shooting had over 100 absences from school this year. Legislation introduced by David Catania last year and passed by the Council (and signed into law) requires students who are 14 - 17 be referred to social services after 15 absences. It would be worth looking into what actions, if any, social services took. This was clearly a child in need of intervention.

Yes, parents who want to take their young children to the zoo and Woodley Park neighbors. Just suck it up for the greater good of One City and leave the zoo area as the playground of choice for angry, violent teen criminals. Otherwise, they'll just take their guns and knives elsewhere.

You act like parents and residents elsewhere in the city are happy to have violence in their communities. But, guess what? They aren't any different than the folks in Woodley Park. You can try to act like the rest of the city doesn't exist and mock "One City", but that's a short-sighted approach. What is there to stop the kids from simply choosing another day of the year to go to the Zoo?

Of course, no one wants violence in their communities, and that's precisely the point. When one sees violence surrounding an event in recent years in a venue that attracts families with young kinds as well as a spike in violence in a generally safe neighborhood, the response is to address it in a focused way. It is not to accept some level of violence peanut-buttered across neighborhoods in the city. I suppose that the teen criminals could choose another day at random to go to the zoo, but that would take a catalyst. Unfortunately, Easter Monday has been the catalyst and it needs to be restructured.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm honestly not sure. Also, I no longer live in the Woodley Park area, nor am I an employee of the zoo, nor a member of the AA community. I think it's up to members of those three communities to determine a path moving forward. What do they want to do with this event? Do they want to save it, transform it, redesign it? Does anyone know or is it too soon to know the plans for 2015?

The folks in power don't want to discuss it until later. They hope you'll forget about what happened, and will allow business as usual. Then when it's "time" to discuss it, they'll say,
"Ooops, too late to make any improvements."
You watch.

I got this feeling from zoo director Dennis Kelly at the WPCA meeting. He seemed annoyed by audience members' and Mary Cheh's questions, and his responses were evasive. He acts like he wants this to all just go away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I posted on this question earlier. If the violence happened outside of the zoo boundaries, neither tickets nor metal detectors will help. The idea of refocusing for elementary aged children is a good one but I don't know if that refocus will be enough to keep violent teens away.

How is it still " family day" if you are trying to segregate out teenage children from family's? They are somebody's children too.

Segregation isn't the answer.

I'm assuming PP is referring to unaccompanied minors. Minor teens who are accompanied by adults aren't the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd be willing to bet that most of the folks in this forum having a hissy fit trying to find an infallible solution don't even go to the zoo on Easter Monday. What the fuck y'all so bent outta shape for? The Smithsonian will up their security for the event next year as will the Transit Police and the Metropolitan Police. If you still don't feel safe and secure then do what you've always done - stay your ass at home.

Charming. The law enforcement departments already admitted that they felt they were well prepared and staffed for the events during spring break, including Easter Monday, and yet, the shootings and other violent acts still happened.