3:30am

At the firehouse, asleep, dreaming about the events that I have encountered throughout the grueling 24-hour shift

3:31am

Alarms blare, the engine and the medic unit are dispatched for a quadrupole shooting roughly 4 blocks from the firehouse – we are advised to stage multiple streets from the incidents due to the fact that it is still an active shooter event

3:38am

The scene has been secured – we arrive to find 5 shot despite the dispatched information of only four shot. One is dead on arrival, one is shot in the head but is still breathing, and three are shot in the extremities. Command begins taking control of the scene and requesting more units

4:02am

All living patients have been transported by the EMS units, my fire crew and I stayed behind and waited to the coroner to determine the dead patient as dead and take him away

5:43am

Everyone is back at the firehouse and is being debriefed. This was a gang related shooting and had been in the works for many days.

Bystanders,

Without you, problems such as the one described in the storyline above will never be solved. What I didn’t mention in the story is that while yes, this was a gang related shooting that I personally encountered while working at the fire department one night, this could have easily been avoided.
Per the police, the gang members had been planning this shooting (mass execution) for many days, and it has been something that they have talked about in public with many different people around and listening to these conversations. Furthermore, these gang members have recently robbed gun stores in the area in order to obtain the tools they needed for these operations.
Bystanders.
Imagine if you had called the police with a description of the thieves at the gun store? Imagine if you had said something when you heard some men talking about a homicide they were planning?
Without you, these events continue to happen, however, with you – they can stop.
Don’t be a passive bystander, be an active bystander and step up to stop violence in your area.

Bystander Story: A Timeline

Matthew

What Would You Do?

Being a Bystander in College

Bystanders: An Opinion Piece

Bystander

A Bystander Blog Post

Bystander Effect Story