Monday, June 09, 2008

My first gun shots in Santo Domingo

Regular readers of this blog know that I lived on the most dangerous block in Lobito, Angola. Now I might work on the most dangerous block in Santo Domingo. I don't really think so, but the tally has begun.

Our office is not exactly in a bad part of town, but it ain’t really the best apart of town either. The corner where our office is located is more known for being a traffic accident magnet, since is it near a busy street and anxious drivers speed around the corner to avoid the horrible Santo Domingo traffic.

I left the office around 5:45 on Friday. As I came out of the office, I saw a guy running as fast as he could around the corner. Hot on his tail was a group of angry men shouting something at the guy and to observers. Now, I’m still adjusting to the Dominican accent, but I definitely heard, “¡Mátalo! Kill him!” About 15 seconds later, a guy on a motorcycle came by brandishing a shotgun and fired off a shot in the direction of the guy running- and by default at the crowd of people chasing him.

I turned around and in a panic I literally ran into my colleague who had heard the shot. I waited in the office until he said it was okay to come back out. When I emerged, I saw the crowd of people who had been chasing the guy- they managed to get him and were putting their fists of justice to use. My colleague and I asked a neighbor what happened. Apparently the guy had stolen something from one of the men in the crowd and they managed to get him. Miraculously, no one was hurt by the gunshot.

I asked if someone was going to call the police and my colleague said, “Probably not. Not such a big deal.” Just another day at the office!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I haven't witnessed gunfire yet in Honduras. I was held up twice in Mexico, but here so far, just a half-hearted attempt at a bribe by a traffic cop. However my 'hood is dangerous too. I added your blog to my list of favorite blogs. Keep writing!