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So this is that story of the shootout. I mentioned days ago that I might write this

I seriously contemplated if I should even tell it here in the first place but eh. I'll delete it if I feel the need to. I'll also mention that any investigations are over with & I no longer put myself in these positions anymore. Also, sorry for the length lol.

I realize there are people who will judge me regardless so screw it. I'll take that 馃し

To start, it was another regular day. I worked my ass off on a long shift, got off work, then I decided to stop by a friend's to see what he'd been up to (I'll call him A). His best friend had just gotten killed a few weeks before & he was going through a really hard time. Not only were the same people trying to kill him too, but my friend wanted revenge on the people who did it. Typical hood story. One of my closest friends (I'll call him B) & I would stop by to visit him almost every day to keep him company & make sure he was safe. We didn't want him getting attacked or doing anything stupid.

This one particular night, we were outside by the parking lot because we were smoking. It was late at night on a work day so we weren't expecting anybody to really be looking for us. We were laughing & joking around, telling stories like usual. Suddenly A got a text message that was only a picture of the street sign closest to the corner we were next to.
We knew that picture was sent as a warning that we were being watched & immediately we all changed our whole demeanor.

Every single one of us owned guns & at that moment there was four of us standing together. We all cocked our guns back (put a bullet in the chamber) & kept them at our sides because we already knew something was about to happen. We just didn't know where, what, or how it was gonna pop off.

We decided to start walking back to the apartment so we walked in line, one by one at a distance so we weren't all grouped together at once.

That's when a black sedan pulled into the parking lot. We had our eyes on the car as it pulled up across from the spaces we were next to. Both front doors opened & two men leaned out of each of the doors. We heard the *click clack* of pistols being cocked back. The first shot went off & I heard the bang as I saw the ground spark up right in front of my feet, meaning that's where the first bullet hit. Each of us aimed back & started shooting immediately. My guess is they didn't expect all those shots to be returned. There was only two of them & four of us but we were running for cover since we were in the open while they were ducking, closing their doors, getting ready to drive off. Shots still flying back & forth the whole time.

Thats when we all took the cue to split & started running in different directions. I parked my car outside of the complex when I arrived because I didn't want to risk my car getting towed (since I didn't live there). As I exited the complex from the opposite direction I saw the same black sedan pulling out of the complex on the other side of the street as me. I don't even know how they got there so fast.

I saw the windows rolling down & I knew what that meant so this time I shot at them first because when you're in that state of mind, your thoughts are "hit them before they hit me". They fired back only a few shots before hitting the gas hard & peeling out of there. The way they drove away seemed like the driver definitely got shot. I found out later that's exactly what happened. He got hit in the leg when I shot at his car.

I got to my car & left as quickly but calmly as I could. Of course speeding would draw attention & I could already hear the police sirens so I was just driving like I normally would've. B called at that moment & told me that A is by a tree around the corner. I pulled up, he hopped in my car, then we drove back to B's house.

I was still on high alert when I got there. Every car that passed by his house had me watching them just waiting for something to happen again. I felt like with the amount of bullets that went off that night it's amazing my friends & I didn't get hit.

The next day we found out both of those people in the sedan were shot. Both lived. It's hard to say which of our bullets hit the other guy though. I know I hit the driver but idk who hit the 2nd person. I haven't heard anything about him since. Maybe he didn't even make it.. but I think if that happened I would've heard about it. That shootout was a huge deal & the streets knew about it. So I think he just vanished on his own after.

That was the last incident I got into before I took a step back from that lifestyle. I got tired of looking over my shoulder, wondering if this might be the day I get locked up or maybe even shot. I got tired of being there for my friends & not worrying about myself. When their stupid asses are gonna do what they wanna do no matter what. At a certain point I can't be there anymore. I can't stop them. & Why throw my own life away for other people who are throwing theirs away too?
Even out of all those people in the shootout that night, only two of us are still alive & free. Just me & B.. he's still one of my closest friends.
A is in prison now. So is the other friend who was with us that I didn't name.

As for the other two who targeted us, one of them is dead. He pointed a gun at A's sister a week later so A killed him in broad daylight in front of witnesses. Shot him more than 20 times. So not much of a defense for that in court. The other guy, I have no idea but it wouldn't be hard to guess.

I know there's people who will read this & think about what a lowlife piece of shit I am. The disregard for the safety of others. The recklessness of knowing what could result from the positions I put myself in. I don't disagree with that at all. I'd tell you you're right.

I'm here because I like telling my stories from time to time, giving my input, & accepting others. The same reason I joined EP long ago. I've always liked writing & EP allowed me to write my experiences in a place where people can actually relate or ask questions. Because I ain't telling my family on Facebook these stories 馃槀 I mean I'm honest with them but I ain't out there writing shit like this for them to read me like a book. Especially this one because it's too much.
I can say I'm a good person.. I can tell you all that I've changed, but words aren't enough for things like that. You guys can decide that yourself. If you think I'm a bad person.. then I am. I won't argue with you.
I'm just here to share my experiences & hope it does something.
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Jenny123451-55, F
You鈥檙e a good person at heart I can tell from the messages you post here at the group.

Street gangs are a little foreign to me where I live but I do read a little about them and correct me if I鈥檓 wrong but I鈥檝e read that kids don鈥檛 always have a choice whether or not to join. Youre in and that鈥檚 that. And it鈥檚 situational too. If your parents bring you up in a gang neighbourhood, you鈥檙e likely to grow up and be in a gang. Parents can鈥檛 be so naive as to say okay I鈥檓 going to bring my kid up here in this gang neighbourhood because the rent is cheaper and this is where my family is and my kid won鈥檛 join a gang when he鈥檚 older. Parents play a role in this too.

Five years ago one of my twins was getting into a lot of trouble at school and hanging out with a bad crowd. One boy in particular was so bad he was in grade 8 and a drug dealer and in and out of juvy. He was a new friend to my son but the more my son told me about him and the more I heard from other moms, I knew I had to get my kid away from him. They did stop hanging out because my son knew he was a bad influence and my son is very naive. Perfect target. I sent my son away for two months up north to summer camp to get away from this kid. At that point they didn鈥檛 go to the same school but after he came home from camp he said he heard this boy was going to be attending his school in September. I knew in my heart of hearts I had to get my kid away from him so I switched his school for September. He was angry but he understood why. Well it was the best thing I ever did because by early October this bad kid and my sons friend, a nice boy I knew well, were arrested for death threats and possession of weapon. I know if I hadn鈥檛 switched my son to a different school he would have possibly been involved.
ChiefWalksWith40oz26-30
@Jenny1234 well I'm glad you noticed it & kept your son away from influences like that. When you're young it's easy to mimic somebody because you think they're cool. I thought stuff like that was cool when I was young too but I remember my first time getting arrested on campus was actually really embarrassing for me. The whole school chanted my name all loud like it was cool & that made me feel worse.

If I had to guess though, I would say your son is probably gonna end up pretty wise in identifying that kind of danger as he gets older thanks to you teaching him