Not As Local As It Should Be

TWO CHILDREN WOUNDED IN ELIZABETH SHOOTING

Jim Lowney Photo

An Elizabeth Police Officer ropes of the scene.

Old habits die hard. When my brother called from the news desk last night to say a few people just got shot not far from my flat I just had to go take a look. Fifteen years ago I would often spend time in the evening racing around the streets of Elizabeth looking for a shooting scene after hearing the call on the police scanner. Back then I was a staff photographer on the late Elizabeth Daily Journal working the night shift and there were a lot more shootings thanks to the crack.

The wounded were already at the hospital by the time I arrived at the Oakwood Apartments on Parker Road. But there was the yellow crime scene tape, the nervous residents on the sidewalk talking loudly about everyone who was to blame for the two little kids getting shot and the detectives were on the roof and all over the place. It never changes that much.

Details were sketchy. Two kids got shot. Or was it two kids and one adult? There was one dead. No, nobody died. The cops were too busy to ask so I made some frames of them working the scene and went on my way as the sun went down

The cops at headquarters were giving my brother on the news desk the run around. No information was forthcoming. Channel 7 in New York was on the story he told me. But there were bigger stories breaking in north Jersey last night. A massive water main break effecting three counties and a big roundup of fifty bad guys in East Orange in a huge, showy crime crack down were keeping all the news crews busy.

After waiting a while with the hope of getting something more solid on the shooting I called one of the New York dailies and left a message about the shooting with the Metro desk. They never called back.

Channel 7 ran the story on the 11 o’clock broadcast. It was a good report. They even spoke to one of the wounded and her mom on camera. Still, what exactly happened wasn't completely clear. Though it was reported that a jammed door prevented the kids from getting inside to safety. Thankfully, the kids' injuries were not life threating and they will be okay.

This morning I searched online for the stories on the shooting. Nothing. I checked the state’s main daily that acts as our local newspaper since this city of 123,000 no longer has its own paper. Nada. The wires. Again, nothing. Two children get shot and it is barely a story.

The fact that a day early the residents of the very building where the children were shot held a rally against drug dealers made the story all the more important and juicer for a reporter. There was a long story and big picture about the rally in yesterday’s Star-Ledger with quotes from the angry residents and the mayor. Then two little kids get shot there and hardly anyone notices. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ledger runs a piece about it in tomorrow’s paper. They often take their time running stories. Last night the shooting happened well before deadline and I hope it doesn’t fade away too fast.

Things always seem more important when they happen close to home. As they should. I want to know what happens where I live. What happened and why? Old habits die hard and so does the longing for the “good old days” when there were decent local daily newspapers covering where I live.