Neighborhood Disaster

At first, I didn't pay much attention. At midnight, I noticed there were two cop cars across the street. I hadn't met the new neighbors across the street. Maybe another time.

By 2 a.m., however, there were other vehicles there too. In particular, a large, black van.

They wheeled a stretcher into the house. They wheeled out the stretcher with a body, and put it into the van. The van did not look like a private funeral-home vehicle. It had an official, police look. So maybe not an expected death.

My mind was spinning. There was an unexplained event Wednesday afternoon. Two men I didn't recognize passed nearby and vanished into my immediate neighbor's yard. Nevertheless, I had no idea if the events were related. Maybe nothing.

The following morning, I did have a chance to speak to the two mysterious men. They were fine - there's an Air BNB rental next door, and they were guests. There was lots of auto traffic across the street. People coming and going.

And here it is:

South Command

17-153551 (Casualty Report): 2700 block of Florence Pl at 0020 hours.

Officers responded for a medical aid call. Officers arrived and contacted the caller who stated she found her adult son on his bedroom floor. Officers located the victim and determined he had a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was deceased. The coroner responded and took over the investigation as there were no signs of foul play.

A silent plague. So sad....