Guns aren't Toys and Playin' Gangster isn't Cool

A few nights ago, it ended up being pretty dramatic around my apartment building, and I am absolutely livid about it.

At about 1 in the morning, I woke to the sounds of gun shots very close by. Sure enough, at the bar right across the street there was a shooting. I heard 3 loud shots, but apparently there were up to 10. Then, the sirens started and the street out front was taken over by police. I went out to see what was happening, like pretty much everyone else in the building. We saw as the shooter was arrested and bundled into a cop car. I must say, I was impressed by how quickly the police got there and how fast they were able to get the shooter into custody. Good work Winnipeg Police Service.

As the story goes, the guy who decided it was wise to start shooting into a bar packed with people was mad because he had been kicked out of the bar. He came back and started to shoot the place up. Fortunately, and rather miraculously, no one was hurt or killed. Here is a link to the story for your convenience and reading pleasure:

No one hurt after shooter fires into packed Corydon nightclub

Now, living in an apartment building right across from a busy bar with a reputation of having stuff like this happen isn't exactly wonderful at the best of times. It's noisy, I often have people relieving themselves under my window in the night, it's always busy and makes parking hellish. No, I don't love living across from that establishment, even if I do like the apartment that I am in.

But, to have this kind of thing happen leaves me feeling angry. Very angry. I'm tired of these irresponsible punks playing with guns as a way to prove...well...I don't even know what the heck they are trying to prove. That they are tough? That they are powerful? What? I don't know. I have no clue what they are thinking. I mean, the gunman shot up the place for the dumbest of reasons. He was kicked out by a bouncer. And he comes back with a GUN? Seriously? What an a-hole.

Although I know the chances are pretty low given that he was shooting in the opposite direction of my apartment building, when bullets are flying around, you never know where they might land. The idea of a bullet coming into my apartment is both infuriating and scary. Someone creating a situation where this may happen really does NOT impress me.

This isn't the first time that things have gone bad at this particular bar. A man was murdered there in May of 2018. Like I said, the place doesn't have the best reputation.

For that matter, this area just seems to be one where nasty things are happening more and more. Just a few months back, two blocks down the street in the parking lot of 7-11. A young man was wounded in that incident.

And it's not just here in Winnipeg where idiots with guns are being idiots. I've been watching with dismay as my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario becomes overrun by drug gangs from Southern Ontario who, again, love playing with guns. And they really don't seem to care about who they hurt or kill. This incident happened a few blocks from where my parents live:

How did we get to the point where these young people think that playing with guns is the way to go? It ain't! Guns are instruments of death and destruction. Very little good comes from these things, especially when they are used as tools by gangs, thugs and irresponsible jerks to intimidate and bully. For power. To feed egos. So, how do we stop this crap from happening? How do we get the guns out of the hands of these kids? How do we get kids to understand that when they start shooting they might take a life. And when they do, that life is gone forever. And they risk going to jail for a really long time for taking that life.

Do these kids really not care this much? Do these kids really have such little empathy to treat life so cheaply? They think it's okay to do this? Why? HOW? How did things get this way?