<p>Yesterday we drove past a most disturbing site in an area of our very large neighborhood. A group of about 7 teen aged boys, (of color), hitting at, punching, and swinging at 1 lone boy, (white) who had blood on his face. They seemed to be coming out of a wooded area. The boy was not running from them, (and he was not hitting back either). I stopped the car and tooted my horn thinking maybe that would make them disburse. No luck, in fact my mother saw another group of teen boys, (one with a bat), who looked to be on their way to join in. About 2 other cars pulled up behind me and I started creeping along still tooting my horn. Mom and I both reached for our cell phones and called it in. We did not stay at the scene, but as we were moving along, the police were enroute. On our way back through the boy was there, along with the police, and a fire truck. I saw only one other boy with the injured one. The scene has haunted me all night.</p>
<p>We are hearing about gang activity in our town now with much more frequency. I hate to assume that I stumbled upon a gang related attack or a gang initiation. My 12 year old son was in the car with us. He won’t talk much about it, although I kept trying. He only says that he does not want to go the neighborhood high school. I am still upset.</p>
<p>I would have been very upset by that image also. I wonder what the scenario was? A thing my kids’ high school had trouble with in the past years was “scheduled” fights. The kids know they get suspended for any fighting on school property, so they “plan” a fight at a particular location and time. Sometimes as many as 50 kids would show up to watch (girls included–sometimes even girls were doing the fighting). When an adult would get wind of one of these, the police would be sent out to break it up and sometimes even get to the site before the kids and send them all away. At times, when they (police) broke up the fights, they would also search cars and would come up with drugs and weapons. Since all of mine are out of high school now for a couple years, I don’t know if this practice is still going on–my information sources have been cut.</p>
<p>I wonder if you called police, since you called it in, would they tell you what had happened and if there is reason for your son to be concerned about attending the neighborhood high school?</p>
<p>Your son witnessed the potential murder of a boy like himself (same age,same sex, same neighborhood, possibly same skin color). He also witnessed responsible adults (whose job it is to keep him safe) chose for whatever reason to not get more involved than to beep a horn, call 911, and leave before help came. He was seeing himself getting killed and no one coming immediately to his rescue. Way too much to process at his age.</p>
<p>Of course he does not want to go to the high school. Responsible adults will not rush in to save him because they are too afraid.</p>
<p>Im sorry this is happening in your neighborhood. I would have been scared to death and I don’t know what I would have done had I been in your shoes. I don’t blame you for still being upset.</p>
<p>Ask your son what he thought you all could have done differently to help the boy. That might open him up for discussion.</p>
<ul>
<li>I am not saying you should have/ could have done more…I am just saying what he witnessed.</li>
</ul>
<p>I was certainly an afraid female in the car with her mother and 12 year old son. I was not about to get out of my car alone. One of those cars behind me had males in them and they did not get out. I did what I thought was the best that I could at the time. I would have hated for my son to see me being beaten by teenaged boys. </p>
<p>My son does not want to go to this particular high school because our local news is telling us that this school has been having problems with some identified gang like behaviors. </p>
<p>I just received a recorded message from my son’s middle school principal informing the parents that there are rumors of students in our county being randomly targeted for violence. She wanted to assure the parents that the schools are doing everything they can do in order to assure the students safety, including putting the school on “lock down” if necessary.</p>
<p>What a world we are living in. I am scared, and am seriously considering private school for my son.</p>
<p>That’s why so many parents are sending their kids to private schools. Publics just can’t or won’t take the needed measures to stop such activity.</p>
<p>Your town needs more policemen walking the beat. The high school can do nothing to disrupt a gang who is so bold as to attack in broad daylight in full view of the passing traffic.</p>
<p>“Your town needs more policemen walking the beat. The high school can do nothing to disrupt a gang who is so bold as to attack in broad daylight in full view of the passing traffic.”</p>
<p>I think this is one of the reasons I am so disturbed by what I saw. It was in broad daylight and the kids could care less if adults were witnessing it. I am depressed over the fact that I did not feel safe enough to get out and stop it in the moment. I would want someone to help my son. On the other hand I feel like I did what it was safe to do. I called the law and they responded timely. I wished I could have done more. I wished I would have been brave enough.</p>
<p>30 yrs. ago you could have probably scared them off. Today kids have guns and attitude and are often drinking or high. You had your son, yourself and your mom to keep safe. Luckily, you drove back to see the boy standing safely with the police. No second thoughts for you :)</p>
<p>I do worry about your son and how he processed this. I would definitly be thinking private school.</p>
<p>Would you have gotten out of your car had all the kids been white? (I’m not saying I would have either way - although I have brazenly broken up fights in the past, but it depends on the scenario.)</p>
<p>quopoe, no answers, just empathy. I probably would have done the same thing. I’m about 5 foot tall and am a couple of inches taller then my Mom. might have tried to run a couple of people down, but I’m sure I wouldn’t have gotten out of the car. weenie, what does skin color have to do with trying to break up a fight? That’s a weird question.</p>
<p>Perhaps with advances in digital photography, we should all be taking pictures when we witness events such as this. But that also assumes that once identified, something will actually happen to these delinquents. </p>
<p>In Philadelphia, the murder rate and gang violence is at an all time high. People won’t talk or identify gang members because they’re afraid of being killed. Delinquents/gang members have no respect for human life, not even their own. How can that be restored when we glorify violence in video games and movies?</p>
<p>Coulda been seven white kids, seven asian kids, seven girls, seven skinheads, seven old kids etc. It’s just a description of what she observed.</p>
<p>I have no problem with cameras on every street corner. Soon satelites will photograph every square inch of the planet with the ability to zoom in to identify anyone on earth (who looks up :))</p>
<p>Cameras on every street corner may not be a bad idea. At least the reporting public would have evidence of retaliation when they chose to physically intervene. We live in an ever increasing troubled world. :(</p>