Gunshots on the subway April 21, 2008

When I’m out until past midnight, I typically enjoy taking the Night Owl SEPTA bus from Temple to my Center City apartment.  So, I was upset last night when the subway was still open when it was time for me to go home.

After an extended stop at Girard Station around 12:10 a.m., two Philadelphia Police officers escorted a man off the subway and took him into custody.

The smart bastard made a run for it, jumping into the subway ditch and running.  Many people in the subway cars watched and screamed – some cheering, some scared – when all of a sudden, we heard a gunshot too close for comfort.  The infamous, accented woman said “Doors Closing” as the subway immediately continued on its way.

We, the unassuming subway passengers, were left to assume the Philadelphia Police got their man.

Stupid criminals (possibly a redundant phrase) amaze me.  I thought for the rest of my subway ride just how insane this suspect had to be.  Where are you going to run in a subway?  Options are pretty slim – less than the chances of escaping.

We’re in Philadelphia – a city where cops are on edge and citizens should be wary.  You do something majorly wrong, odds are you’re going to get caught.

But maybe that’s just my naivety.  If only people thought so simplistically…