More Troublemakers 1

More Troublemakers 1
(sent to others on this as well)


Police and ambulances going by my street Saturday night from about 6 or 7pm onwards.
Seems that there was a shooting incident occurring about a block-and-a-half over from me on Ward St between McGee and Grant, involving the Berkeley Police and some lady on the block.

Later that night at about 8:15pm, someone started ringing my doorbell and urgently pounding upon the front door.
Imagine my surprise when I peeked out through the front door and saw two girls trying to reach me. Both looked to be somewhere around 11 to 13 years old, one girl was Caucasian and the other girl was African-American. No adult guardian or supervisor present. The spokesgirl of the two had a really annoying dose of chutzpa: first she asked me if it was my bicycle that was locked just outside my apartment, then she asked if she and her friend could come into my actual apartment (like WHY??). I said no, I asked them what they wanted, and then the same spokesgirl pointed to her friend (someone named "Jasmine"?) and said that she wanted money for this friend. I refused their panhandling, then told them to please leave, then completely closed the door on both girls. The spokesgirl then spat on my door and as she was leaving hurled out some insult I refused to pay attention to.

I called the Berkeley Police on these girls to report their suspicious behavior and found out
- most patrol cars were dealing with the much higher-priority shooting emergency on Ward St., so they couldn't come over to my apt to investigate or focus upon my low-priority panhandling "visit"
- these girls or someone else they know had apparently visited my apartment earlier that same Saturday afternoon -- in order to panhandle/beg?? -or- in order to case my place for a possible attempted break-in??
- I should NOT answer my door when someone unidentified knocks, even if they urgently ring on the doorbell and pound on my door like these [not-so-innocent] girls; I should ask to speak with an adult; I should report the above girls' behavior and take photos of these unsupervised minors when I see these just in case they try to panhandle again or are lookouts for someone else to try to break-in.


I went outside later that Saturday night to visit the Ward St shooting scene. My block was prett much deserted, but half of the next block over was lined with police cars, and the actual block of the shooting was all cordoned off, with extra officers carefully watching and supervising all approaches to the cordoned-off area.

This shooting reminds me in a bad way of the notorious crime-ridden areas back in East Brooklyn:
Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bed-Sty), Crown heights, East New York, Brownsville.
Only major difference between E. Bklyn and So. Brkly here are that so much happens in the bad E. Bkln areas ON A CONSISTENT BASIS, that one can NEVER go out at night in the bad E. Bkln areas. Even to just drive thru the "wrong place in the street". Also, the crack and drug wars continue to make the E. Bkln areas KNOWN problems to ALL. Here in So. Brkly, even though it's the same thing that the neighbors don't watch out for each other or look out and around to see who goes by and hangs around..... still at the same time, Cal students, Cal alumni/ae, and persons from adjacent neighbors DO pass by and through all the time (walking, jogging, on bicycle). Might be a similar case of urban poverty and family strife (w/ Christian vs. Islam religion transformation mixed-in) fighting against gentrification -- as if the latter could really take hold in So. Brkly (NOT!)


Coming back home, did not see and damage to my building from the girls or their adult accomplice(s). If I see them or they see me, I'll be sure to ask them their names and where their associated adult/parent is. Will ask for their name(s) too. Maybe they can visit their local church to ask those praying there to "open their hearts" [and wallets!]