Shots rang out

Yikes. The first three items in our Police Briefs roundup yesterday are about people being shot while minding their own business. One man was shot in the leg while standing in his driveway. Another was shot in the foot while walking on the sidewalk. And this one:

A girl was shot in the leg as she was sleeping early Sunday in the top bunk bed in her southeast Fort Wayne home.

[. . .]

Outside the home, officers found three separate .25-caliber shell casings in front of 3400 Euclid. Directly in front of the home was a blue 2006 Buick four-door with bullet holes in it. The vehicle appeared to have been struck least three times. Officers believe a gun battle might have occurred, with both sides firing as each other.

With the two men, it's risky to assume they weren't involved in anything nefarious until more facts are known. But I guess it's safe to say the little girl isn't a gang member or a drug dealer. Is there any crime to take more seriously than crime that reaches out for you in your own home? If your're not safe there, where are you?

My sister was almost a victim of one of these insane shootings. She was living with our mother at the house near Reed and Senate that our mother and father had purchased. She was sitting up in bed reading and had just laid down when a bullet came into the house and hit the wall just above her. When that happened, we had no great philosophical discussions and did not agonize over the current state of things. We just got them the hell out of that house and into an apartment on the city's north side as fast as we could. To this day, I can't drive through that old neighborhood without feeling a little shiver of fear.

If city officials care about making this city safe -- and making all of us feel safe -- this is the kind of crime to take the most seriously.