First off, I'm -completely- amazed at all of you for the emails offlist and the suggestions about what to do; I've been in a state of shock about all this, and as much as I'd like to express with eloquence how this has effected me, I'm still too close to the event to really process it.
At the neighborhood hardware store last night, getting new glass, the shopkeeper asked why I needed 3 panes of glass, and as I told him the story, he nodded and said that 2 other homes in my neighborhood had received similar treatment (funny, the cops never mentioned a string of these incidents..) I walked over and chatted with the other households, introduced myself, etc. One woman had some china in.. well, whatever those special cabinets you china in are called.. broken by the shot; the rest of us just dug .22 rounds out of plaster or woodwork. Getting home, I called the officer who gave me his contact number and left a message, asking for any uupdates or info about a possible string of incidents, etc. This morning, I had a voicemail from the officer who I spoke with the day before, saying that they had caught the guy! In what can only be described as a Law & Order moment, a person out walking thier dog saw a minivan/SUV driving fast through a nearby neighborhood, and called 911 and reported the plates. A nearby patrol car took the call and stopped the vehicle, inside 3 teen boys and a loaded .22 rifle (/slightly/ illegal in and of itself) They impounded the vehicle and hauled them down to the station, and one of them admitted to driving around, looking for windows and signs to shoot up (this is a residental neighborhood in Seattle, NOT rural farmland/suburbia). The others admitted as well, including killing the cat, and are, needless to say, in some serious hot water. The youngest is still a minor, and his parents have already contacted me and have offered to pay for -all- the damages (including whatever costs are associated with cremating Kira *and* the adoption/vet fees on a new cat!) I've thanked them, and accepted their offer to make some amends; their kid will be flippin' burgers all summer to cover the cost, they assure me (if he avoids juvie). The charges against them for what amounts to vandalism are actually pretty minor, I'm told, compared to the weapons charge (loaded weapon in a vehicle, discharging a weapon within N yards of a school, some other stuff). I'm putting on my best face of forgiveness, and hoping that some change for the better comes into their lives from this, but I am still really shaken, and its going to take some time for me to really figure out how I feel.. anger? frustration? fear? loneliness? They're all there, but muddled and mixed. I'll be ok, though :) -j- _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
