If you haven't heard yet there was another shooting in Seattle. This one
wasn't during the middle of the night with a bunch of ravers (like the massacre
a few months ago) but in a Jewish Federation building in Belltown which is the
neighborhood north of downtown.
Around 4pm a Muslim gunman entered the Jewish building claiming he was an
angry Muslim American and opened fire. He murdered one and injured 5
others. 3 of the 5 are in critical condition.
This is so terrible and a sad day in our society.
This happened at 4:00pm today (7/28) and here is how some
friends and I discovered the startling news.
Today is also the last Friday of the month which means it is Critical Mass in over 200 cities
worldwide. Critical Mass is a celebration/demonstration of bicyclists in
major cities who take over the streets of downtown areas as a mass of
bicycles. My friends and I make it nearly every month and it is a lot of
fun to cruise around the city. While we were riding to the Westlake Plaza
(where we start the ride in Seattle)
we noticed cops had blocked off a section of Belltown. We were wondering
what was going on and jokingly thought it may be trap for the Critical Mass
crew.
The Seattle PD isn’t fans of Critical Mass and usually someone gets a ticket or
gets arrested for something. The main reason we thought it was a
"trap" or something is because last month a bicyclist got
jumped by 2 men while stopping traffic at intersection. Another
bicyclist came to his aid and started fighting the 2 men. At that time
the 2 men presented themselves as King
County (the county Seattle
is located in) police officers. The 2 guys were arrested on the spot and
it has raised a lot of controversy in the paper and news during the last month.
So, back to today. While downtown there were many ambulances, fire
trucks, cop cars, and helicopters all around. We knew something was wrong
but we didn't know what. A SPD cop started making his way around telling
everyone that there was a tragic shooting in Belltown and urged us not to go
north. Typically Critical Mass ends up going north of downtown.
Word got around that there was a shooting and we somberly left downtown only an
hour and half after the shooting as a mass promoting bicycle advocacy.
What a sad time to be demonstrating while a crazy nut job just shot a bunch of
people because of the Israel-Lebanon conflict. None the less we headed
south to Seward Park.
I am pretty sure that this was the largest Critical Mass for Seatlle
EVER! There had to of been 400-500 cyclists. I think the most I
have ever seen is 200-300. It was a great ride all the way to Seward Park
which is on the south end of Lake Washington.
After the several hundred cyclists made their way into the park we noticed
there were 5 or 6 cop cars that had been following us the entire time.
The same cop from Westlake
Plaza made his rounds
expressing his gratitude that we went south and that he appreciates our
demonstration. I think there was a great moment of bonding between the
Critical Mass crew and the SPD today. It was actually a nice thing.
They disregarded the people drinking beer, smoking some pot, and not wearing
helmets at the park and expressed their appreciation for our cooperation and
our continued support in demonstrating bicycle awareness.
My heart goes out to the victims and their families. This is such a
tragedy for Seattle and the US. I
hope this Israel,
Lebonon - Jewish, Muslim conflict does not spark another "world war"
Here are some links to headlines stories that have broke since this evening
Posted
Jul 29 2006, 02:34 AM
by
crakins