8:02 P.M. Four loud pops, like someone slamming a mailbox opened-and-closed repeatedly, shattered the quiet. My cat started up, then looked back and forth repeatedly, trying to locate the disturbance.

I went to the patio window and looked out. Three teens were passing by on the street, two walking, one on a bicycle. The one on the bicycle raised his right hand above his head and started firing a pistol into the air. Bang, bang, bang! Three more shots to add to the four he'd just fired.

He spotted me watching them and stared at me like, "What you gonna do about it?"

They kept moving up the street. Another house later, he fired three more shots.

At first I wasn't sure what to do. Should I call 911? Did it count as an emergency? Should I call the police's non-emergency number? Police take so long to respond that they'd be unlikely to see them. After a few moments, I called 911.

I told them what I'd seen, described the people, what they were wearing, and which direction they were headed.

At the end, the operator asked me if I wanted "contact with the officer."

"Gee, I don't know... they saw me watching them...."

"Would you like to remain anonymous?"

After a pause to consider, I said, "Yes."

Now I feel like a coward. It concerned me people walking past my house firing a gun could then see me talking to the police about them. I don't know, maybe it's just that I'm sick and feel so lousy right now. I've gone face to face with gang members, white supremacists, and various other unsavory sorts, and here I am concerned to be seen talking to a cop? Damn.

After I hung up, I wondered if maybe I should have spoken with the officer. Does it make a difference? Would it have helped? I don't know.

A saw a patrol car go up and down the street a couple of times. I doubt anything came of it. By that time it had been 15 minutes since the incident. I'd called within a minute, but spent at least 7 more on the phone speaking with the 911 operator.

You know, I'm from L.A. and I've never seen anything like that. I saw a running gun battle down the street in Glendale, CA once about 20 years ago. I've been trapped in my house while police sought a carjacking suspect. I've heard gunfire in the distance. But I've never seen someone casually going down the street firing a gun into the air as if they were just blowing bubbles from a wand. It looked like footage from Mogadishu or some other thug infested Third World backwater.


I'd ultimately decided to call the police because even if they couldn't find the people, if something else happened they'd have a report of the incident and a description. What if someone got robbed by three guys, one on a bike, shortly thereafter? What if someone was injured by a bullet crashing down through their roof? What if a person was found shot nearby and no-one had seen anything? Every bit of information can help.

That's why I wished I hadn't punked out on the anonymous part. What if they needed to follow up with me? (They have my name and number though, and it's on the tape, so if they needed me for something really important, I'm sure they'd contact me anyway. At least I hope so. I'll be following up with an officer I know and maybe going down to the station to ask them follow-up questions about how I should have handled it.)

What would you have done? Would you have called 911? The non-emergency number? Let it slide? Would you have talked with the officer or remained anonymous?

I'm not sure I handled it well, but I hope so. I hope so.