Posted on 12/25/2006 9:54:18 AM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
1997: Last Time 400 Mark Reached
(AP) PHILADELPHIA -- Four murders on the day before Christmas pushed the city's 2006 homicide total to 400 for the first time in nearly a decade.
The last time the city reached the 400 mark was 1997, when the year ended with 418 murders. That marked the last of eight years in the 1990s in which there were at least 400 killings, including a record 500 in 1990, according to police statistics.
The spate of overnight violence started when pizza delivery man Michael Orlando, 43, was shot while trying to make a delivery in the city's Frankford section at about 11:45 p.m. Saturday. He was pronounced dead shortly after midnight, according to Officer Yolanda Dawkins, a police spokeswoman.
About 2 1/2 hours later, a man was found shot on a North Philadelphia street and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Shortly before 3 a.m., another man was found shot dead in West Philadelphia, Dawkins said. About 10 minutes later and just over 10 blocks away, the fourth victim was found with a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. Other than Orlando, the victims' names were not immediately released and police did not immediately announce any arrests.
Police and city officials have struggled all year to find ways to reduce the violence.
While the high murder rates in the 1990s were widely attributed to the city's crack epidemic, police and city officials say this year's shootings don't follow a simple pattern. Many, however, have revolved around simple disputes, such as thefts and arguments.
Over the summer, officials announced plans to hire 200 new police officers to help combat the violence. The department also created a roving 46-member unit to be deployed on nights and weekends in high-crime areas. In addition, Mayor John F. Street announced plans to install surveillance cameras in some neighborhoods, a move supported overwhelmingly by voters in the May primary.
The mayor has also come out in support of measures such as limiting gun purchases to one a month and allowing municipalities to enact their own gun control laws. State lawmakers spent three days discussing such proposals last fall, but did not pass any bills.
In July, Street gave a televised address in which he begged for a halt to the killings and asked young people to "lay down your weapons. Do it now. Choose education over violence."
I mentioned it because this was the only place this has ever happened to me.
I used to get invited to play at a lot of different places and would also go where I heard the best players/games were.
I took great joy in being picked last or having to wait until everbody else played before getting my turn. I relished the uh-oh's, or the guys on my team laughing you didn't want him!! You didn't want him! You made us take him!
Grew up there...saw the shift from the 60s to the 90s. I was teaching at Delgado in the late 80s and could see what the effect this was having on the lives of my students. But between the fact of the crime getting so outrageous and a family crisis, I decided it was time to move on...
Ha!its kind of funny how so many people are victims of their rash stereotyping-"white men can't jump","black folks don't swim or ski",etc.I love to be around when those misconceptions are smashed to smithereens.
Its all about individuals.People who trip off of ethnicity eventually find themselves looking pretty pathetic.
Didn't a mayor bomb some idiots once? The SLA?
City of Brotherly Love, NOT !
You saw the writing on the wall and left which was good timing.I was first there in 1970 just driving through.I loved the ambiance and flavor of the place.Began teaching at Carver High in the Ninth Ward in 1972.Still keep in touch with some of my old students.I rarely had problems and when they did come they usually were from outside elements who would roam the school causing trouble for all.
Now I'm back in California ready for retirement.Don't think I even WANT to see post Katrina New Orleans.the devastation would break my heart.I'll just keep the memories of the good times from another era and treasure them fondly.
Mayor Goode.Bombed black radical Move house.May,1985.City paid out millions in big lawsuits.Very stupid move(pardon the pun)
Heresy.
Who do you socialists think you are?
Let people buy their own damned firearms. I do not want the state funding it./s
:~)
You and me both...It's going to be a long time before I want to go back there...the clash between memory and what is would hurt too much, I think...
Philadelphia used to not honor PA concealed carry permits. I believe that was overturned as unconstitutional a few years back.
More than a few years back. I've been carrying in Philly on a suburban CCW since around '92. And I checked with the Philly PD HQ before the first time I carried in Philly
BTTT
But the eagels won today and the mayor is a democrat so who cares?
Do those folks celebrate Kwaanza there?
That's probably what all the fireworks are about. At afghani and iraqi weddings they shoot their aks at c-130 gunships to celebrate the union of a man and a woman. In Philly to celebrate the anti-whitey holiday of pan african socialism, they hold their nines horizontally above their heads and let loose.
In your dreams.
Dope dealers in the terminals, constant construction that never seems to improve anything but the pockets of connected contractors, etc. In all, the WORST large airport in the US.
how would we control baghdad
when we can’t control our own cities?
So what’s new? Let me know immediately if they get Specter!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.