Shootings bring chaotic end to street festival
Apple Chill, Chapel Hill's annual street festival celebrating arts, crafts and entertainment, came to a violent and chaotic end Sunday evening as three people were shot despite a heavy police presence at the event.
Chapel Hill Police Chief Gregg Jarvies said two victims were shot in front of the Caribou Coffee store at 110 W. Franklin St. about 8:45 p.m. One victim had a bullet graze to the head and was shot in the chest. The other victim was shot in the back.
Both were taken to UNC Hospitals. Their names and medical conditions were not available late Sunday. A third shooting victim was discovered during a traffic stop at Franklin Street and Elliott Road, though police do not know whether that person was injured during the earlier incident. That victim's injuries were not life-threatening, Jarvies said.
Forty-five minutes after the initial shooting, Jarvies said, police received another report of gunshots fired several blocks east of 110 W. Franklin St. In a third incident, a gun was brandished, but no shots were fired.
"Our officers are running everywhere," Jarvies said. "We've got shootings, major traffic congestion, several fights, officers assaulted."
J. Andrew Curliss, David Bracken and Lisa Hoppenjans
What's this? Violence in the Berkeley of the East? Unthinkable!
This was interesting:
Many of the motorcyclists are black, and some suggested that the uneasiness is over thousands of mostly younger blacks strolling the streets. The business owners specifically denied that race is a factor.
Shawn Holland who is black and is the president of a club called No. 1 Stunnas, which is a sponsor of the festival, said race may play a role in some opposition to the festival.
"There are a few people who are intimidated by African-Americans and by motorcyclists," he said. "But these people are spending money, too."
At first, I was inclined to just shake my head over the inevitability of NandO playing the race card, but then it struck me: race may very well be a factor here. Maybe the elites in the People's Republic of Chapel Hill find the actual presence and proximity of their adopted mascots distasteful. I guess it's fine for the PRCH elite to drive to Durham or Greensboro and engage in race-baiting, but when the people they are exploiting actually show up in their little Nirvana in the Piedmont, that's a completely different story.
Chapel Hill Police Chief Gregg Jarvies said two victims were shot in front of the Caribou Coffee store at 110 W. Franklin St. about 8:45 p.m. One victim had a bullet graze to the head and was shot in the chest. The other victim was shot in the back.
Both were taken to UNC Hospitals. Their names and medical conditions were not available late Sunday. A third shooting victim was discovered during a traffic stop at Franklin Street and Elliott Road, though police do not know whether that person was injured during the earlier incident. That victim's injuries were not life-threatening, Jarvies said.
Forty-five minutes after the initial shooting, Jarvies said, police received another report of gunshots fired several blocks east of 110 W. Franklin St. In a third incident, a gun was brandished, but no shots were fired.
"Our officers are running everywhere," Jarvies said. "We've got shootings, major traffic congestion, several fights, officers assaulted."
J. Andrew Curliss, David Bracken and Lisa Hoppenjans
What's this? Violence in the Berkeley of the East? Unthinkable!
This was interesting:
Many of the motorcyclists are black, and some suggested that the uneasiness is over thousands of mostly younger blacks strolling the streets. The business owners specifically denied that race is a factor.
Shawn Holland who is black and is the president of a club called No. 1 Stunnas, which is a sponsor of the festival, said race may play a role in some opposition to the festival.
"There are a few people who are intimidated by African-Americans and by motorcyclists," he said. "But these people are spending money, too."
At first, I was inclined to just shake my head over the inevitability of NandO playing the race card, but then it struck me: race may very well be a factor here. Maybe the elites in the People's Republic of Chapel Hill find the actual presence and proximity of their adopted mascots distasteful. I guess it's fine for the PRCH elite to drive to Durham or Greensboro and engage in race-baiting, but when the people they are exploiting actually show up in their little Nirvana in the Piedmont, that's a completely different story.
posted by Anonymous | 8:39 AM
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