Someone tried to rob me (with a toy gun)
I suppose something like that was bound to happen sooner or later.
Even before I started writing for Austin Weekly News, I wasn't exactly a stranger to the rougher parts of Chicago. I've been offered drugs, I've seen prostitute solicit passing motorists, I've had a prostitute solicit me, but I've never seen someone so much as flash a gun in my presence, let alone threaten someone with it. The closest I've ever come to being a victim of crime was that one time back in 2011, when a group of teens saw me taking pictures, demanded to know what I was photographing and tried to steal my camera. But this... was something else entirely.
I was in Austin to grab some copies of the paper at the neighborhood branch library. As I was heading back to the 'L', I got a call back from one of the organizations I contacted for a story. In this business, you learn that, when someone calls you back, it's usually better to try to interview them right away - you never know whether you're going to hear from them again. I was walking down a busy artery street, where you get lots of traffic notice, so I turned onto a somewhat quieter parking lot, pulled out my notebook and pen and started to interview.
Just as I started asking questions, I felt something distinctly gun-shaped against the back of my head, and someone demanding that I show them their pockets.
Now, anyone who knows me well, or anyone who's seen me on the field, know that I tend to be rather single-minded when I'm in journalism mode. I ignore untied shoelaces, dropped objects, what have you. And I knew that most robbers, as a rule, don't actually want to shoot people. The gun is a means to threaten. So I continued trying to do the interview... and I might have kept doing it, if the robber didn't start trying to get the phone out of my hand.
I distinctly remember thinking "well, I can't do an interview like that," closed my phone and looked up.
The first thing I noticed was that it was actually a toy gun. A pretty realistic-looking toy gun, but the orange tip was a giveaway. The second thing I noticed was that the would be robber was a kid, a young teen - I would peg him at 15 at most. And he was surrounded by guys who around the same age and younger.
"Are you freaking kidding me?" was what came out of my mouth as I got up, and the kids ran off laughing.
Because I was still in journalism mode, I immediately called the contact back and, in what has got to be the most surreal moment in my journalism career yet, I said:
"Sorry about that - some kid tried to rob me with a toy gun."
Later during the interview, I heard someone asking me if I was okay, but I was too busy asking questions to even look up to see what it was, let alone respond.
Almost an hour and a half later.... I suppose I might have felt differently if it was a real gun, but as it is... I am a bit unnerved and a bit annoyed. When the group of teens tried to snatch away my camera, it threw off my mental balance for hours, but this... Not so much. Not nearly as much.
And here is a thing that definitely bothers me. The stretch of Central Avenue I was walking on was part of the Save Passage corridor. I spotted two Safe Passage workers when I went to the library and on the way back. None of them did anything about the kids.
I'm just saying - this could have easily been a real robber. With a real gun.
Even before I started writing for Austin Weekly News, I wasn't exactly a stranger to the rougher parts of Chicago. I've been offered drugs, I've seen prostitute solicit passing motorists, I've had a prostitute solicit me, but I've never seen someone so much as flash a gun in my presence, let alone threaten someone with it. The closest I've ever come to being a victim of crime was that one time back in 2011, when a group of teens saw me taking pictures, demanded to know what I was photographing and tried to steal my camera. But this... was something else entirely.
I was in Austin to grab some copies of the paper at the neighborhood branch library. As I was heading back to the 'L', I got a call back from one of the organizations I contacted for a story. In this business, you learn that, when someone calls you back, it's usually better to try to interview them right away - you never know whether you're going to hear from them again. I was walking down a busy artery street, where you get lots of traffic notice, so I turned onto a somewhat quieter parking lot, pulled out my notebook and pen and started to interview.
Just as I started asking questions, I felt something distinctly gun-shaped against the back of my head, and someone demanding that I show them their pockets.
Now, anyone who knows me well, or anyone who's seen me on the field, know that I tend to be rather single-minded when I'm in journalism mode. I ignore untied shoelaces, dropped objects, what have you. And I knew that most robbers, as a rule, don't actually want to shoot people. The gun is a means to threaten. So I continued trying to do the interview... and I might have kept doing it, if the robber didn't start trying to get the phone out of my hand.
I distinctly remember thinking "well, I can't do an interview like that," closed my phone and looked up.
The first thing I noticed was that it was actually a toy gun. A pretty realistic-looking toy gun, but the orange tip was a giveaway. The second thing I noticed was that the would be robber was a kid, a young teen - I would peg him at 15 at most. And he was surrounded by guys who around the same age and younger.
"Are you freaking kidding me?" was what came out of my mouth as I got up, and the kids ran off laughing.
Because I was still in journalism mode, I immediately called the contact back and, in what has got to be the most surreal moment in my journalism career yet, I said:
"Sorry about that - some kid tried to rob me with a toy gun."
Later during the interview, I heard someone asking me if I was okay, but I was too busy asking questions to even look up to see what it was, let alone respond.
Almost an hour and a half later.... I suppose I might have felt differently if it was a real gun, but as it is... I am a bit unnerved and a bit annoyed. When the group of teens tried to snatch away my camera, it threw off my mental balance for hours, but this... Not so much. Not nearly as much.
And here is a thing that definitely bothers me. The stretch of Central Avenue I was walking on was part of the Save Passage corridor. I spotted two Safe Passage workers when I went to the library and on the way back. None of them did anything about the kids.
I'm just saying - this could have easily been a real robber. With a real gun.