Residents are calling it the "Avenue of Violence", as week by week, this statement is proving more accurate. Last night was more evident of senseless gunfire and bloodshed that rocked lower and upper South Orange Ave., which stretches through most of the city's West Ward. A little after 8 PM, while residents in the area of 800 South Orange Ave. sipped on their favorite cups of coffee in the local Dunkin Donuts, entertained by neighborly conversations of things as simple as the day's high school football scores, gun blasts rang out just outside of the drive-thru, where a man was reportedly in a conversation with several people. Customers in the Dunkin Donuts and people waiting for transportation scrambled for cover as employees shielded themselves in the store until the "fire cracker"-like popping ceased, according to customers. When the smoke cleared, the man standing outside was reportedly shot in the back and rushed to the hospital in serious condition.
Police, already on edge, responded to shots fired on 10th Street and South Orange Ave. just after 4:30, where gunfire sent shockwaves and woke residents that are not shy to violence. As police arrived, they found a man laying on the ground, suffering gunshot wounds and in traumatic arrest, according to reports. "He was not moving at all," said a resident that secretly peeped through the blinds, hoping to get a view of what awakened her out of her sleep. Police set up a crime scene that stretched almost a block long, as they collected evidence.
Just one year ago, gunfire erupted less than a block away inside the local pizza shot, killing one of its employees. Police are still investigating that homicide.
As night turned into day, and as our crew arrived on the scene of the 10th street shooting, two police officers, appearing confused and exhausted after a long night, ripped down police tape, as one of the officers just shook her head in complete disgust.