Walk to the Next Murder February 16, 2021
Over the weekend 7 people were shot in Minneapolis, MN, 2 of them pregnant. 2 people died on one of the scenes. 8 days earlier I said I would walk to the site of the next murder by gun in Mpls. It could have been as far as 15 miles away, turned out to be less than a mile. On Valentines night 3 people were shot while driving on 28th Avenue by Roosevelt High, 1 survived. Does he know who shot him? Will he tell if he does know?
It was -15 degrees when I started but the sun was up. I thought about the people who were murdered. I knew nothing about them, not even names. So frustratingly abstract, my mind wandered to if-only. It’s not like we don’t know what to do to reduce gun violence in this country… I pulled myself back to the moment, made up stories about who these people might have been, their families.
Arriving at the scene I saw wreckage scattered about and saw where the car jumped the snowbank curb, hit a concrete garbage can and smashed into the student garden. I surveyed the bits of bumper, grill, hubcap, and noticed a sheet for covering bodies still neatly folded on the ground, unused. Perhaps the EMT got 3 sheets out but discovering one person was still alive used only 2.
A few minutes later a maintenance worker from the High School came out with a bin and began picking up the car remains. We shared a moment of sadness, then I walked home.