And this is why I hate answering my door...

I live in a weird neighborhood. Not weird-good, but not necessarily weird-bad, either. Just weird. No one ever knows what I'm talking about when I try to tell people where I live. It's the land that Seattle forgot. It's not West Seattle, it's not South Park, it's not SeaTac, it's not Burien, it's not even White Center, really. It's Top Hat. Yes, Top Hat. It's far away from everywhere I want to go, it's close to some rather sketchy parts of town, but my rent is really cheap so I stick around. Some people make fun of me for living where I do, but hey, at least I don't live in Kent.

I went out with a friend last night and returned home a little after 1:00 in the morning. I was still awake and alert, and thought I would wind down by watching The Office on DVD. At approximately 2 a.m. I was halfway through the Season 2 finale when I heard some screaming and a loud, deep, booming voice yell "Get on the ground, now! On your knees!" So, I paused my DVD and went to my living room window. I peeked outside and there were flashing police lights everywhere, and I could see two police officers with their guns drawn. I heard a guy yelling "I'm down, I'm down!" or something to that effect, but I couldn't really see him. There are many trees behind my apartment, and I couldn't see the street too clearly. I could also hear a woman crying. The yelling continued for quite some time, and I eventually saw the cops drag a man in a white t-shirt and jeans toward the cop car. I couldn't get a look at the man; I couldn't even tell what ethnicity he was. He and the crying woman were yelling to each other, though the man did most of the yelling. "I loooooooove you! I love you, baby! You're my heart, my HEART!" He also started crying for his mother. I don't think his mother was there, but he started yelling "Mama, I love you! Help me, Mama!"

The police put the man into one of the squad cars, and began to question the woman. I'm not sure what came of that. I only heard more crying. The cop cars were still around when I went to sleep around 3:00.

This morning I looked at the news online to figure out what had gone on. Apparently, the guy who was crying for his mother had shot a 78-year-old man for not letting him inside his house to use the phone. Some reports say that although the victim did not know the shooter, he had seen him around the neighborhood before. I wonder if I'd recognize him. He had apparently attended an "alcohol and marijuana party" prior to the shooting. I've been to many parties in my life, and many of them were "alcohol and marijuana parties," but I don't recall people getting shot afterwards. Weird.

There are a lot of wannabe gangster types in my neighborhood, but they generally don't bother anyone. The shooter hid his gun in the bushes about 20 feet from my window, which is why a lot of this transpired right outside my living room. The victim is expected to make a full recovery, which is great. I can't imagine how horrible it would be to die because a stranger shot you after you didn't let him into your home in the middle of the night.

---Zoe Doom