I just heard REALLY LOUD gunshots outside my apartment

and it totally freaked me out. should I be concerned?

Even if it was nothing, they can come out and make sure.

I'd be freaking out. Are you sure it was gunshots?

even to report it. Why? We lived in a small town, beautiful postcard town. One night I heard the same thing, I called the police and they showed up minutes later and arrested a man who was trying to shoot his wife as she ran down the alley behind us. It wont hurt, and you never know what it may be. Stay safe and be careful. :)

you never know where a stray bullet is going to land..

turn on all outside lights
turn off all inside lights
make sure all your doors are locked
go into a room where you can lock/barricade yourself/family
get down and stay down
wait for the police

because it affords the most protection.

Do call the cops.

Anybody who uses a firearm in a crowded area needs to be yanked off the street, pronto.

I'm praying for you

Many who call the police end up getting arrested for one thing or another. Calling the police is a last resort.

These days with police omnipotence in full flower, it's almost impossible to imagine the many ways you can "resist an officer without violence" or "obstruct an officer in conduct of his duty." What these really mean is that if the officer is unprofessional or has a case of the ass or if some neighbor alleges that you are making the gunshots, you could find yourself in jail looking for a chance to call your bondsman.

I know that some will think that I'm exaggerating but I see this type of thing every day and it doesn't just happen to low lifes.

committing suicide....if you call the cops, be prepared for YOUR place to get totally searched and YOU possibly arrested under some incredibly horrible charge like "Homeland Security"...


sometimes, it's just lots better to get into the bathtub for protection, after LOCKING all your windows and doors....then hope for the best as the madness continues....just calling the cops (DC Metro Area - inside the beltway) is CAUSE for the cops to whoop your ass just for making the call....


better to rent apartments AT LEAST ON THE THIRD FLOOR OR HIGHER....but NOT too high (airplanes or bad fire control measures)....

Call the cops

loud noises, footsteps running past the house in the dead of night. Anything left outside gone by morning, gang fights, drive bys, -- call the cops?

The L.A.P.D. !!!???

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhhhhhttttt . . . :7

Don't take your life into someone elses hands. Definetly call the cops.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

PEOPLE!

oFFC baRBRADY (illiterite)

Are you OK? If you don't answer in 30 minutes we will assume you have been hit and that would really suck, OK? :)

I really hope you are alright.

Used to have them a lot outside my apartment in my oh-so-wonderful section of Harlem. Even had two murders on my block in the 5 years I lived there. Ah....nothing like gang warfare and the bullshit macho attitude of the Dominican culture.

I never worried about it. They never killed or shot at anyone who was innocent - it was always drugs or some bullshit macho fight over a woman or a sense of having been "dissed" by some other ridiculous macho bullshit idiot.

Now, if you live in a neighborhood in which the gunshots are not common, then maybe you SHOULD call the cops.

- Secure you children
- Secure any pets you may have
- Secure your residence
- load your own weapon (which you should have)
- If it continues, get a pillow, portable phone, and a good book. Get in a METAL bath tub. Else in a room of closet furthest away from the shooting to put as much protection between you and the bullets and hope they are using hollow points.

Hello out there, Stop_The_War?