MacArthur Park Media » pan american http://macarthurparkmedia.com the american experience starts here Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:56:25 +0000 en hourly 1 Drive-By at the Pan American/Shooting in MacArthur Park http://macarthurparkmedia.com/2009/09/drive-by-at-the-pan-american/ http://macarthurparkmedia.com/2009/09/drive-by-at-the-pan-american/#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:14:06 +0000 devinelizabeth http://macarthurparkmedia.com/?p=401 JUST last night, my neighbor Alex and I were looking at our street’s crime map, taking note of where to park our cars (not 6th and Westlake) and where to walk at night (not Vermont: side streets in this area, though unlit, are much less frequently the scene of personal theft and/or aggravated assault). Among the many incidents noted on the map over the last week — theft, rape, burglary (property), robbery (violent), grand theft auto — none of them were homicides and only a few of them were assaults.

the crime map for the neighborhood from the 9th to the 16th. personal theft is by far the most common crime noted.

The crime map for the neighborhood from 9/9 to 9/16. Personal theft is by far the most common crime noted.

Then, last night, some guy goes to the Pan American on Temple, gets in a fight, and shoots and wounds three men outside the club. Soon we will have more blue dots to mark the occasion. The police don’t know yet who the shooter was, and all we know about the men who were shot is that they were between the ages of 20 and 25. The police told an independent news crew that one man was shot in the back, another in the chest and the other in the arm.

I’ve never been to the Pan American, but I do frequently stare at it when I drive by. Mainly I am mesmerized by the six-inch, jelly platform heels the women wear and the signage, in classic Spanglish. I did once suggest that a few friends and I go there after bookclub (we read They Shoot Horses Don’t They? about dance marathons and it seemed the most relevant spot in the area to tie the theme in), but my friend Molly said we no, because we’d need bodyguards.

update, 9/22 — Not so fast on the no yellow dots. Two men were shot yesterday in MacArthur Park, one of them fatally. The men were apparently sitting, chatting on a park bench near the corner of 6th/Alvarado at 10:30 in the morning, when another man approached them and started shooting at them in the head and all over their body. From the LA Times:

The incident at MacArthur Park marked the first shooting there since January 2008 and the first fatal shooting at the park since August 2006, [LAPD Deputy Chief Sergio] Diaz said.

Once considered a magnet for violence, drug dealing and other crimes, the park has undergone a revival in recent years as the LAPD beefed up patrols and city leaders invested in the site. Among the features of the revived park is a new soccer field that has been popular with Westlake District residents.

“Anytime we are talking about a crime in MacArthur Park, there’s an added dimension,” Diaz said. “It’s pretty bold to do this in the day when there’s lots of people around.”

Not entirely by coincidence, today is also the day I ordered Pepper Spray to carry with me on my key chain.

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