The following commentary is in response to a fatal shooting early Saturday morning near 49th and Springfield. The author, Renee Tapp, is concerned about the horrific crime and what she perceives as apathy among residents.
On Friday night I awoke to guns shots and by the time I looked out of my bedroom window, a crime scene had been established by the police. After reaching out to the community through West Philly Local about the constant violence occurring on the Springfield corridor, I was shocked by the lack of interest or response from the readership of this blog.
It is my concern that this neighborhood is only interested in crime that happens to members of the community. At this time, I understand there is only a limited amount of information to share, however I worry that the readership has been able to dismiss this crime because the victim wasn’t from our neighborhood. For me, it does not matter where the victim is from, but rather someone perceived our neighborhood as an acceptable place to commit murder.
A human being was killed outside my house on Friday. Either direction on Springfield Ave resonates with the aftermath of a tragedy. As November begins, I am forced to ask, how much has changed since the rape and robbery near Springfield in September? I do not feel more safe now than I did then.
I would hope that the problem solving that has been so prominent on the blog in the last few days addressing non-crime issues, such as dogs off leash, can extend to addressing the on-going crime in our community. Or perhaps, we should continue to ignore these persistent problems until it is one of us, and then feign shock at how this could possibly be.
