echo6tango
Regular Member
imported post
I had to work late this evening for a bit of network maintenance. Not a big deal, that’s the IT field for ya. Anyways, as I’m leaving Arlington around 7:40PM, I figure at least I don’t have to worry about traffic, just the drizzling rain on the way home to Maryland. I make it across the 14th Street Bridge, through the city across the East-West freeway while watching either the Park Police helo or the MPD helo flying around downtown with its spotlight looking for something or somebody. I don’t give it much thought. As I cross the Anacostia bridges, I hear sirens from many vehicles and I hope it’s not an accident on my route home.
As I merge onto I-295 South, traffic comes to a dead stop. Super, an accident on 295. As I’m sitting in three lanes of stopped traffic, police cars in groups of 2, 3, and 4 from both Prince George’s County and D.C. police start weaving through the lanes of stopped traffic with lights and sirens. I drive this route every weekday and I’ve seen lots of accidents…but never with this kind of police response. Within a couple of minutes creeping along an inch at a time, I count somewhere around 30 to 35 marked and unmarked police cars. At this point, I’m pretty sure it’s not just an accident.
As I’m turning the radio to WTOP 103.5 for a traffic report, I hear something over the drizzling rain that sounded like a car back firing, but much sharper. I roll down the window a bit and look towards the direction of the noise. Then I hear it 7 to 8 more times in quick succession and realize its gunfire (no doubt in my military mind). Someone decided to have a shoot out within 20 – 30 feet of my truck, in the dark, with me sandwiched in the middle lane of three lanes of stopped traffic. I know the difference between rounds fired far off and rounds fired close. After verbally telling myself to duck, I suddenly realize that I have no where to go and nothing more than a 6-cell Mag Light to protect myself. All this while there are cops every-freaking-where.
Within a couple of minutes, traffic is crawling, all being directed from three lanes to a single lane to exit I-295, right into Southeast D.C. As I’m crawling down the exit ramp in my now very vulnerable feeling Tacoma, there are D.C. police cars in groups of two or more driving up and down the surface streets shining their spot beams into trees, bushes, down alleys, etc.
Now I’m driving the side streets of Southeast D.C. in the dark trying to get home. After about 30 minutes, with my wife guiding me over the phone from Google maps at home, I make it to 210 South. By the way, Southeast D.C. at night…not where you wanna learn new commuting routes!
The whole situation from beginning to end…I’ve never felt so incredibly vulnerable and completely helpless...and now, sitting here typing this...I'm just freaking pissed at being in a position to just sit andhope Idon'teat a bullet.No where to run, no where to hide, no means to stand my ground...just sit and hope. Now I know how D.C. residents feel every single day of their lives.
By the way, the entire way home, WTOP radio kept reporting that there was “merely” an accident on I-295. Ummmm, 30 to 35 police cruisers do not respond to a traffic accident with gunfire playing the background.
I had to work late this evening for a bit of network maintenance. Not a big deal, that’s the IT field for ya. Anyways, as I’m leaving Arlington around 7:40PM, I figure at least I don’t have to worry about traffic, just the drizzling rain on the way home to Maryland. I make it across the 14th Street Bridge, through the city across the East-West freeway while watching either the Park Police helo or the MPD helo flying around downtown with its spotlight looking for something or somebody. I don’t give it much thought. As I cross the Anacostia bridges, I hear sirens from many vehicles and I hope it’s not an accident on my route home.
As I merge onto I-295 South, traffic comes to a dead stop. Super, an accident on 295. As I’m sitting in three lanes of stopped traffic, police cars in groups of 2, 3, and 4 from both Prince George’s County and D.C. police start weaving through the lanes of stopped traffic with lights and sirens. I drive this route every weekday and I’ve seen lots of accidents…but never with this kind of police response. Within a couple of minutes creeping along an inch at a time, I count somewhere around 30 to 35 marked and unmarked police cars. At this point, I’m pretty sure it’s not just an accident.
As I’m turning the radio to WTOP 103.5 for a traffic report, I hear something over the drizzling rain that sounded like a car back firing, but much sharper. I roll down the window a bit and look towards the direction of the noise. Then I hear it 7 to 8 more times in quick succession and realize its gunfire (no doubt in my military mind). Someone decided to have a shoot out within 20 – 30 feet of my truck, in the dark, with me sandwiched in the middle lane of three lanes of stopped traffic. I know the difference between rounds fired far off and rounds fired close. After verbally telling myself to duck, I suddenly realize that I have no where to go and nothing more than a 6-cell Mag Light to protect myself. All this while there are cops every-freaking-where.
Within a couple of minutes, traffic is crawling, all being directed from three lanes to a single lane to exit I-295, right into Southeast D.C. As I’m crawling down the exit ramp in my now very vulnerable feeling Tacoma, there are D.C. police cars in groups of two or more driving up and down the surface streets shining their spot beams into trees, bushes, down alleys, etc.
Now I’m driving the side streets of Southeast D.C. in the dark trying to get home. After about 30 minutes, with my wife guiding me over the phone from Google maps at home, I make it to 210 South. By the way, Southeast D.C. at night…not where you wanna learn new commuting routes!
The whole situation from beginning to end…I’ve never felt so incredibly vulnerable and completely helpless...and now, sitting here typing this...I'm just freaking pissed at being in a position to just sit andhope Idon'teat a bullet.No where to run, no where to hide, no means to stand my ground...just sit and hope. Now I know how D.C. residents feel every single day of their lives.
By the way, the entire way home, WTOP radio kept reporting that there was “merely” an accident on I-295. Ummmm, 30 to 35 police cruisers do not respond to a traffic accident with gunfire playing the background.