All,
Just a heads up to what occurred on the 100 block of V street last night. About 2:00 am, several of my neighbors and I were awakened to the sound of some college-aged kids yelling on the street. At first, it seemed like the not-infrequent experience of kids having a bit too much fun on a Saturday night and not respecting their neighbors. I got up and watched from my window as what looked like about 8 people suddenly turned into about 20 people, yelling at each other and doing the "bring it on and let's fight" body posture. Events spiraled downward rapidly with one kid swinging a long wooden stick (like a thinner 2x4), other kids throwing bricks, and a fight breaking out between several people in the middle of the street. By this time, several of us had called the police who showed up within a minute or two. As soon as the kids heard the police, they scattered, many of them running around the police cars as they were parking.
The next several hours involved the police cordoning off of the sidewalk which is splattered in some cases and drizzled in others with blood, interviewing witnesses, speaking with some of the kids at Howard, bringing in a detective for more interviews, and then being parked on the street with lights flashing till morning. According to the police's initial thoughts, the fight was between Howard students and locals, perhaps originating at one of the neighborhood parties. During the V street brawl, several kids were stabbed. According to the bleeding kids who had returned to Carver Hall, they had been jumped by the locals earlier that evening and had confronted them later on V.
The common question being asked by my neighbors and me is why no one was arrested? According to the police, they didn't see anyone fighting. As for the boys who were stabbed and obviously a part of this, the police said that they have no proof that these boys were not simply victims who were defending themselves. And neither the boys who were fighting nor the girls who were videotaping it with their phones were likely to work with the police to find the perpetrators.
Needless to say, this is a bit frustrating, since several of us witnessed it and did not see a group of thugs jumping a group of students. Rather, it looked like what the boys described -- a planned confrontation. Although I don't think any of us want to see innocent kids arrested, you have to wonder what kind of message it sends to them that they can choose to settle a dispute in this way with no repercussions. Also, my point is not to denigrate the police, but the experience has me wondering if their lack of effort to detain anyone is based on the District having no anti-loitering laws.
You can draw your own conclusions, but my takeaway is to be extra vigilant on evenings when there are lots of parties, call the police at the first sign of anything suspicious and videotape as much as you can as evidence.
Hopefully, the guys who got stabbed are okay, and someone will care enough about the kids responsible for the melee (who may also include the kids who got stabbed) to make sure they don't behave so poorly in the future.
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