Riots

[Echo5Charlie]

Riots have started a few miles from our home. A cop killed a boy in Ferguson. Witnesses say the boy had his hands up and was complying, cops say he wrestled them for their gun. The initial reports were 8 shots to the chest and one to the head. Who knows the truth at this point.

Local reports of a quick trip being burned, police in riot gear being shot at and tear gas going into the crowds. We are hearing shots and helos circling. We shall see where this ends up.

[J]

take care, our thoughts are with you.

[Echo5Charlie]

Pretty sleepless night. After years of fussing at me my wife was extremely relieved with our security and weapons setup. The police were not able to respond to calls. If you were not able to protect your family, there was no cavalry coming. The fact that my wife got to experience that, should secure her to the prepping mindset. Hundreds of looters caused millions in damage last night. We had reports of the mobs heading our way, but that was not the case. It stayed pretty localized. Al Sharpton is supposed to be coming, and no one seems excited about that. Another event is planned for this evening, hopefully it stays civil. The family has condemned the looters. The city is still on edge though.

[Clarity Jane]

Yes, take care.

[Echo5Charlie]

Night two has kicked off. There’s talk of national guard and martial law if there’s a third night.

There’s some nasty rumors going around. Discernment is pretty important in times like these. Disinformation can be an infectious disease.

Most people I have talked to are tired today. Sleep patterns have definitely been affected. Should be an interesting night.

[J]

Stay safe. Hope things don’t get out of control again.

[Echo5Charlie]

Last night was definitely calmer. A group of protesters assembled at the quick trip at the entrance to our neighborhood, and they remained peaceful.

The police were much firmer last night, firing tear gas where people would start to assemble. They fired bean bags when people did not directly respond. Then they kicked the media out.

The police had said they would announce the officers name at noon today, then changed their mind. This has some people concerned that people would riot again. I’m not sure why they ever thought releasing his name was a good idea.

On the other side of town a shoe store was looted by a large group of people, it’s assumed to be related. Obviously people taking advantage of the situation.

I think the worst has passed. We are remaining alert though. Thanks for your thoughts.

[Echo5Charlie]

If your watching the news you know there was more looting last night. One thing that really stood out to me was the looters stormed the market and residents kicked them out and stood watch and everything was safe there. Then the police came and took over securing the store, no problem. They were then called back to the command center. The looters returned and trashed the place.

The only places that have been safe are the places guarded by citizens.

[J]

That seems to be the way these things usually work; citizens and neighbors looking out for one another. Hope it settled down soon and doesn’t spill over to affect you and yours directly.

[Echo5Charlie]

Yeah, we have been hoping for the same. It has been pretty interesting to talk to people around here and get their reactions. So many people had no clue this could possibly happen here. They are starting to see shtf on a small scale and they are in shock. People feeling terrorized and not sleeping well. They are seeing the up armed police for the first time and their old philosophical arguments just got real.

I also find it interesting that our church has been helping clean up the area and holding prayer vigils in the affected area. Through that we found a lot of area residents are out of food already, because their stores have been looted.

Kind of like your situation up there J, for most a couple cases of water and a small pantry of food and a fire arm of any kind would have seen them through. They don’t have what they need and 2 miles in any direction is unaffected. This could be so much worse.

[PJ]

E5C

Thanks for sharing your experiences and lessons learned. Continue to keep us posted and stay safe brother.

[Echo5Charlie]

Thanks Pj, happy to report my family is all safe. Last night was storming pretty good and that may have helped disperse the unruly. Many are saying that the curfew is going to move the violent opportunists to the neighboring cities. We have not seen that yet, but it is a concern that this will spread.

The other concern, is if this officer is actually acquitted. While the original information did not appear favorable to the officer, we really don’t know. The investigation is just starting. This has the potential to grow quite a bit.

[J]

This guy is already been tried and convicted in the media and the court of public opinion (ie the mob), I dont think he has much of a chance, even if he was justified. If he is tried and found not guilty, I am wary of public reaction. It seem that there are some trying to turn this into another Rodney King situation, based on news articles I have read.

I hope I am wrong.

[Echo5Charlie]

I think your right on there. I was in California when the LA riots happened and they waited for the acquittal of the police before they looted. Here they looted right away an then demand justice without an investigation. Not that there’s an acceptable time to loot, but that’s not justice or how the judicial system works. It begs the question if the looters want justice handed to them for their crimes.

Just watched my pastor give an interview on MSNBC. Kind of surreal.

[Echo5Charlie]

As I mentioned previously, it’s been some late nights keeping up with the news and tracking where the looters are heading. At midnight last night there was a sudden media blackout. It was never called that, the police separated the media from the crowds and called them back to the command center for a presser. The police kept saying it was coming shortly, two hours later they held the presser. That meant two hours of guessing.

That was a reminder to me how small your world gets without comm or Intel. Instead of knowing where the crowds are headed or if spontaneous acts of violence are popping up, all you know is what you can see and hear. It had been a luxury to be able to track it almost instantaneous.

[Author]

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