My dad’s retired and a bit of a night owl. A couple of nights ago, about 1:30 AM, he heard something and went out on his porch. The police were at the house across the street, but just seemed to be talking to the people there so he went back inside.
Then about 30 minutes later, a knock on the door. It was the police. They told him that the people across the street (really pretty decent neighbors, no trouble with them at all for as long as they’ve been there) had gotten mixed up with “a really bad gang” and they expected trouble. Big trouble.
The policeman asked dad if he had a gun. Dad thought he was asking since he was afraid somebody might try to break in and steal it. Nope, he wanted dad to be able to defend himself when the almost certainly inevitable attack comes to across the street. To be able to hold them off until the police arrived. Now they’re not talking about the gang attacking dad, they were looking for a war in the street and wanted dad to be able to defend against them, or take a few out, or something until the police could arrive.
Needless to say, dad was pretty surprised. More like in shock. He doesn’t want to get mixed up in a gang war. He’s 80. This is a really quiet residential neighborhood, and the people across the street don’t seem to be involved with anything that you could tell. A couple with 2 small kids.
Dad didn’t tell them that he is almost certainly better armed than an entire gang, and would have no qualms about defending himself as best he could should he come under attack (I’d put money on him), but he was pretty puzzled at the statements the police made.
So he’s just waiting for all out gang warfare to bust out and play it by ear.
Wow, that’s really strange. I’ve had the cops ask if I have a gun before to dispatch an injured deer on the side of the road, since it’s the humane thing to do and if the cop discharges his weapon he’s got to do too much paperwork, but your story is just bizzarre.
It’s like your dad woke up to a video game or something. I’d just high tail it out of the area until the shooting is through.
Is your dad sure he was a real cop? Could he be someone dressed like a cop, just hitting a few houses with his story to see where there were guns he might steal.
It was a real cop, in a real cop car with real Sheriff’s deputies in the street, also.
I just stopped by there on my way home from lunch and got some more of the story.
The guy who lives across the street was with another guy and that guy got into a fight with one of the gang members and put him in the hospital. Now the gang has targeted both of them for retribution. This comes from dad’s next door neighbor who the guy across the street asked to keep an eye on his house since he was taking his family away. He’s since returned, they have threatened to burn his house down.
Dad goes to bed too early it would seem. Night before last, there was a fight in the street at about 4AM. Everybody was gone before the police arrived (it woke the next door neighbor up, his bedroom is facing the street) but no guns were involved. It was a knife fight and all the guy’s tires were slashed so he wasn’t able to chase them. Nothing since, nothing in the paper regarding any knife fights.
Which gang are 80 year olds encouraged to join… the Crips?
I hope this ends soon and with no further violence, Duke. These insidious damn gangs are just so wrong in every way. Even the members themselves seem to finally realize that one day, if’n they live long enough.
Course. You see 'em all over Palatine too. Busse Woods? Deer Grove? Even along 53 where the water retention place is. When I lived across from the Jewel on Dundee Road in Palatine, one came right up my driveway, ran across Dundee Road and ended up terrified and running amok in the Jewel parking lot.
Now, where I live, you hear the coyotes all night long - from the golf course and from Deer Grove.
Oh, and UB - all that stretch along Golf Road that butts up to 90? I just got my son from the airport a week or so ago, and there were bunches of 'em running around back there.
We got more deer around here than we know what to do with.
Well, yeah. I’ve seen the deer. And even a fox zipping across Rand once. But I can’t believe the Schaumburg cops would have asked a guy to discharge a firearm inside the village. I’d wager a pretty large quantity of beer, that discharging a firearm inside the village limits is prohibited.
Heh, just picturing my dad as a gangsta is a laugh.
These folks are Hispanic, if that matters, not sure what the gang is. According to the next door neighbor (who spoke to the Sheriff’s deputies sometime since I first heard about it), the cops are really concerned about this particular deal. We have your “normal gang” type stuff here, evidently this is something different. I’d like to talk to them about it, just to hear what the big deal is.
And dad and his next door neighbor aren’t some gossiping old coots trying to drum up a story. The next door neighbor is an early 60’s retired professional and as a no BS type of guy. My dad is, how would you say it…very straight laced. They both like the guy across the street, he just got caught up in a bad deal. They are just freaking out a little that this little bomb was dropped into their lap. Or maybe the police/Sheriff are blowing it out of proportion, but I don’t think so.
I just wish it would blow over, maybe it already has run it’s course.
Reminds me of an old Simpson’s episode. Bart was on a ride-along with the local cops when they had to chase down a thug. One of the cops turned to Bart and said “I know this is against regulations, but… could you cover us?” and then hands him a revolver.
