For the second time in as many years, a patron of the Starbucks at the corner of College and Fall Creek in Indianapolis has been shot during an armed robbery. Police say three persons wearing ski masks entered the Starbucks shortly after 8:00 p.m. tonight and held up five patrons inside. A patron who bumped into one of the robbers outside as they were leaving became the city's latest shooting victim. A struggle ensued during which the patron was shot in the leg. The Starbucks at this location was opened in 2005 by owner and basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Its opening was hailed as a sign of economic revitalization for the Fall Creek neighborhood. Today, it's just another sign of how out of control crime is in Indianapolis.
UPDATE: There's an interesting twist in this story. The shooting victim, 42-year-old Pierre Pullins, had just stopped in the Starbucks after attending the opening of Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign office in downtown Indianapolis according to the Star's Vic Ryckaert. Pullins has already been released from Methodist Hospital and is resting at home.
15 comments:
This is just one more incident that underscores one of our greatest concerns for the future of the nation. Before the Terrorists can get us the thugs will have already picked our bones. Rampant crime is besides the economy, etc. one of the greatest threats to our nations existence. And, where do these criminals come from? I can tell you not from some nice quiet neighborhood in Carmel/Hamilton County but the heart of the 7th Congressional District. This is not a racist statement, but a statement of fact. Maybe Mr. Obama can reflect on this very obvious fact.
Missouridemocrat, when you say where do "these criminals" come from, it's not clear whether you mean "all criminals" or just the ones who did this robbery. If you are asking where do the criminals come from in this particular incident, you would likely be right in supposing that it was somebody who lives near Fall Creek and College, as most criminals foolishly stay near where they live when they commit crimes. But if you are talking about criminals generally, I assure you that the number one drug problem in the country right now is crystal meth, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a single meth lab in the 7th Congressional District. Also, if you go on the Indiana Sex Offender Registry, you'll see that Noblesville alone has over 20 registered sex offenders. Your idea that the suburbs are a utopia is only based on your selection of the crimes you choose to emphasize. (Apparently, you don't care about molesters?) But what DOES make your statement racist is that you are clearly implying that the guys who did the Starbucks holdup are black. Otherwise, why would you make a comment about "the heart of the
7th Congressional District, which IS mostly black, and why would you ask Mr. Obama to reflect on this "very obvious fact" instead of Senator Clinton or John McCain, who are both white? The problem is that neither the Star nor Advance Indiana refers to the race of the assailants. They may very well BE black. I don't know. But neither do you, and that's what makes you a racist nimrod. You would have been REAL handy for Susan Smith after she drowned her kids because you would have bought her story about a black man kidnapping them hook, line, and sinker. I feel sorry for you. Your obvious racial hatred will consume you and will turn you into (or continue to turn you) into a bitter old man/woman. Please get help through your church or through a professional counselor.
ipopa have you ever heard the phrase, "can't see the forest for the trees"? You missed entirely the fact I am talking all crime, period. Every element that you went so graciously in detail to critcize in my post I see as a threat to the security and welfare of the nation. Every one of those crimes means every one of them. And, I bet you can find some form of drug lab somewhere in the 7th Congressional District. I am not also in particular hitting that district but to say that responsibility starts everywhere.
IPOPA: Not to let the facts get in the way of a good argument or anything, but:
1.) You claim Noblesville has "over 20 registered sex offenders." FACT: There are 1,476 within a just 10 mile radius of the Starbucks at Fall Creek & College. (http://www.insor.org/insasoweb/
initAdvancedSearchForm.do)
2.) You claim "the 7th Congressional District...is mostly black". FACT: The 7th CD is mostly white; in fact, almost 2/3 white. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana%27s_7th_congressional_district)
3.) You state "you'd be hard-pressed to find a single meth lab in the 7th Congressional District." FACT: As recently as last Friday, an Indianapolis meth kingpin was sentenced in federal court for running a meth ring in Indy that was producing 40 lbs of meth every 6 weeks.(http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/
states/newsrel/chicago032808.html)
There is a bright line between racism and factual observation. Crying wolf at factual observations only dilutes the perception of ACTUAL racism in society. You may wish to tone down the exaggerated dramatics if you truly do care about race relations in this city.
ardentia verga, thank you for the input into this exchange. I was not trying to be racist or extol a suburban utopia. We seem too many times read into situations more than there is etc. I am a tax preparer with clients who happen to be black. This weekend I had the opportunity to meet with two of them to present their tax packets. In doing so since it was Sunday I took them to lunch and we discussed the Obama/Clinton situation, as well as, crime in our city. We all collectively agreed on a fact we also all know, much of this violence is Black on Black, the real problem started with kids having babies and not being able to raise them as effectively as prior generations, etc. and a generation of citizens that feel we owe them rather than them earn a living the old fashioned way, working. the causes of the problems are not racial but unfortunately for the Black community it sure seems as every time we have a high profile crime such as the Panera's Robbery in Glendale a few weeks ago and this on at Starbucks, the criminals are Black. White America is no better at educating their offspring to not commit crimes. I come from a mostly white area of Southeast Missouri originally and when I log into their newspapers website the crime is white perpetrated. So its not racial, but it remains a serious problem of our nation.
There are NO Starbucks in the United States that are privately owned. They are all company stores. The store is not now, nor has it ever been owned "basketball legend Earvin 'Magic' Johnson." Check your facts before your write.
"The problem is that neither the Star nor Advance Indiana refers to the race of the assailants."
That's because the Red Star Rag only prints the race when the criminal is white.
I guess they don't want to "upset" the wrong people.
OK, for all the hair-splitters out there:
http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/magic.asp
"Starbucks and Earvin "Magic" Johnson's company Johnson Development Corporation (JDC), entered into a joint venture partnership in February 1998. This 50/50 joint venture, known as Urban Coffee Opportunities (UCO)"
So he's merely a half-owner.
Well once again I wish I'd said nothing and we get what we deserve. Everyone is so concerned about race, and I am not talking about Advance Indiana or the Star, but I can attest to what I see with my eyes on TV. Many of these crimes are committed by young Black males. I dont know what the situation was in this case, however I normally won't wager on anything but will on this, I bet this crime wasn't committed by a young white male from Carmel. The neighborhood is a changing one and we hope for the better, but crime to me knows no race. I said it before, unfortunate for the Black Community, but these crimes are many times committed by young black males. Anyone that ignores that by wanting to get on the race card ignores the crime itself, the causes of the crime and the need to solve the unlaying problems that lead to the crime. If the cause of the crime is homelessness, mental illness, drug abuse, or someone just being downright mean..... no matter, we need to stop it and not ignore it.
It also proves that the problems didn't just melt away when Greg Ballard became Mayor and when the police dept. came under his control. Crime fighting is tough business. No matter how good your police force is, there are still bad people in a big city.
The murder rate IS down. So far, it's at annualized rate lower than anytime during the Peterson administration EXCEPT the year he took office - just 103.
Don't believe me? See for yourself:
http://bartlies.com/index-main.php#barts-safe-city
When you have a group of people in the U.S. that account for approximately 15% of the population committing approximately 55% of the violent crimes in this country, there is a major issue.
I know someone is going to label me a racist for bringing this up, but facts are facts. So be it. I know otherwise, and thats all that matters. I have many close black friends and infact, many of them AGREE with me on this.
15%. 55%. Think about it.
~~Aryq~~
aryq46254 that was also a point i was making in my posts on crime. my black lady friends at lunch sunday at to agree... it is a shame young black males have chosen the path they walk but they have and society needs to address it. the black community needs to stop making excuses for it and putting it off as "you whites" see things differently than "us blacks". i am so tired of being labeled a racist because i insist young black males not be thugs. blacks are given additional opportunities in this nation due to their race yet many of them as reported today chose not to finish their high school educations and chose instead to deal in drugs and death. we and the black community needs to stop running from the facts and start taking action. put these crminals in jail and throw away the key, if they kill enforce the death penalty fast without letting the criminal linger on 20 years on death row living a substantially full life behind bars. america is going down a road to its own destruction not at the hand of the foreign born terrorist, but at the hands of the american born one.
Gary,
Did you realize that the victim was the same person that you "shot" here (coincidentally, while he was holding a Starbucks cup)?
http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2008/01/poll-shows-tight-race-between-carson.html
To all:
Understand that as a white guy, I am always troubled by people calling all things racist because they have racial components. I don't have a problem accepting that a disproportionate number of black men are in prison relative to their overall population in America. THAT is a fact.
What you do with that fact and how you process it matters. So, you'll forgive me missouridemocrat, if I felt justified to take issue with your comments because you write, "Where DO these criminals (not just in this crime, but all crimes, right?) come from?" ("...not from some nice quiet neighborhood in Carmel") but the HEART of the 7th Congressional District. If you're talking about ALL crime and crime is committed by people everywhere, why refer to the 7th district? Because you WANTED to make a comment about black crime. Just say it.
To respond to you and Ardentia Verba, the 7th District IS 2/3 white, but the HEART of it isn't.
And, yeah, there are 1400 sex offenders in ten mile radius of the Starbucks, but did you calculate a rate based on population because last I heard there are more people in ten miles of Indianapolis than in all of Noblesville. Also, did you take out all the people who register at their places of employment like I did? Do that, and get back to me. My point is that crime is everywhere, even in tranquil suburbs, and while I, too, read the story about that one major meth lab, my "source" for suggesting meth is not a city problem is...who was that? Oh yeah, the same Department of Justice you cite.
"Methamphetamine abuse is most profound in rural communities and is not as prevalent in metropolitan areas."
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs26/26594/ocdetf.htm#GL
What does this mean? If the rural kids aren't supplying the drugs, they're sure supplying the market.
Look, everybody knows black on black crime is a problem, in particular black people. So when someone white comes down on "black on black" crime without addressing "white" crime, it makes a lot of people rightfully nervous. This is more true when you aren't real upfront about your solution. It might be NOT to get drug treatment for people who need it. It might be some "tough on crime" approach that creates a two-tier system of justice with crack users (historically black) getting more time than white people who possess the same quantity of powdered cocaine.
Sorry, but ALL people, black and white, have prejudices that they have to fight like alcoholism because it's almost ingrained at a genetic level. Seeing it in how you think is the first step to recovery.
Post a Comment