Recent murders in Tampa (University: renting, high crime, house)

[kerplunk]

Well, last night a University of Tampa student was shot and killed, and just now a Tampa Bay police officer was shot and killed. Both cases are very, very sad. What is the world coming to? When I was told that Tampa is not a very safe area, they were not kidding. I'm trying to decide if I should stay or leave.

The weather is great, the beaches are beautiful, etc., but is it worth a higher risk of being murdered? I don't know, I don't know.

What do you guys think?

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/hillsborough/Officer_shot_081909 (broken link)

[ferret111]

Do you seriously think that you have a high possibility of getting shot in Tampa? That policeman was killed in a high-crime area that is easy for the majority of Tampanians to avoid.

[algia]

Here's what I think: For as long as they will sell guns everywhere, this will be part of life in Tampa and US for that matter.
For as long as there is NO gun control what so ever and people feel the need to act like hooligans and make their own stupid justice without thinking about the consequences of their actions, you will face this anywhere you move here in Tampa or the rest of the US.
It sad and disgusting that people resort to this and shows LACK OF EVOLVING as a nation and people in general. Shows lack of education by parents and/or schools (all tho it is really NOT the schools problem to educate kids why it is NOT OK to carry or use guns on other people)....but the simple availability of guns will create this all the time and anywhere.

Don't think that this type of stuff happens only in bad crime areas.....That image is only portrayed by biased MEDIA....it happens everywhere and by all types of people.........Have you been to Texas?????

[tilli]

If you are in the habit of hanging out on the street in cracktown in the middle of the night, or typically get stumbling drunk at a bar and then walk home in the middle of the night, then yes you should definitely move to some city where those activites are safe. I don't know where in the world that might be, but you should leave as soon as possible as clearly you are next!

[DennisP]

[quote=algia;10363616]
For as long as there is NO gun control what so ever and people feel the need to act like hooligans and make their own stupid justice without thinking about the consequences of their actions, you will face this anywhere you move here in Tampa or the rest of the US.


So Algia, If they had more gun laws then these trajedies wouldn't have happened??? If you look at places such as Washington DC (where guns were banned from the late 70s), NYC and Boston and LA, you will find very strict gun laws and very high crime and murder rates. You touched on the parenting issues but then fell back on blaming guns. The weapons involved are neither here nor there, they are only tools that people (criminals) used in illegal activities. The laws are on the books and if people break those laws they need to be held accountable. Adding more laws or banning guns will not stop crime because criminals by definition do not obey the law.

As for the victims, my prayers go out to the families and friends of these individuals.

Dennis P.

My p

[ferret111]

Okay, I read the stories in today's paper.

The policeman was killed, unfortunately, as a consequence of his job. The jogger was out around the area north of UT around 3am. That's just asking for trouble. One of Tampa's last housing projects sits just north of UT, as well as a neighborhood that is pretty shifty even in the day. I'm not suggesting that he was "asking for it," but come on, does jogging near a housing project sound like a good idea at any time of the day?

[seain dublin]

A young woman who is new to the area and frightened about her well being and she gets smart a** replies for the most part. Considering there have been two shootings of a police officer and a college student in less than 24 hours I can understand her concern. Maybe she isn't in a good area or unfamilar with what areas to avoid.

TILI, maybe the U. of Tampa should inform out of the area students it isn't safe to walk around there at night. Yes the smart thing to do would have been to get a cab, it didn't say they were stumbling drunk, and if they were at least they didn't get behind the wheel.

That kid who died was by all accounts was an outstanding young man who didn't do anything wrong. Yet people on TBO actually blamed the victim. Imagine the heartache of his parents who live in PA getting that phone call.

There are college towns and cities where students can walk around and not worry about getting shot.

Lot of people down here a little too gun happy. I have no issue with someone keeping a gun in the home for protection. But bring your gun to work, but leave it in your car. What happens if the car is stolen, who is liable.

There was an incident awhile back in our area where some old coot witnessed a robbery in progress and pulled out his gun out of his glove compartment and started
shooting like he was Wyatt Earp. He almost shot innocent people who were in his line of fire.

Real classy though to make fun of this young woman. She did a similar post on TBO. She is new to the area and came from another part of the country(didn't say where) where crime is very low. She may be a little dramatic but she has concerns.

[tilli]

TILI, maybe the U. of Tampa should inform out of the area students it isn't safe to walk around there at night.

U of Tampa students are adults, presumably with the brains in their heads to know for themselves that walking on the streets after a night of drinking at the bar is not safe. I am not saying that they deserved it, I am saying that they could have avoided it, and further that the OP can probably avoid a similar fate by keeping her wits about her and avoiding the bad parts of town at 3am. Not rocket science, really.

She may be a little dramatic but she has concerns.

Yes exactly, overly dramatic. Like many similar posts in this forum that would lead people to beleive in a very different Tampa from the one that actually exists. Relatively speaking, Tampa is a safe place, but you have to take some responsibility for your own safety and recognize that like any city, there are sometimes murders here. If you can't handle that, then Tampa is not the place for you. Nor any city, really. What city never has a murder?

[kdubose]

No matter where you go or where you live, you run the risk of getting killed. You can either
a) suck it up, live your life and try to stay away from "high crime areas" and unsafe situations using common sense and hope that nobody will murder you while youre driving, at the gym, at the mall, at work, etc
OR
b) clam yourself up in your house and never leave, never go outside, never let anybody come over and pretty much hide from the world and your life.

Its not like Tampa is the murder capital of the world... lighting? YES! Murder? not even close!
To say that you cant live in Tampa because somebody got murdered is just insane... That would be like saying you cant live in Hawaii because there's water around it. Murder is inevitable no matter what city you live in.

[kerplunk]

Well, first of all, I am male, but I appreciate everyone thinking that my tone is feminine. I wrote this thread because when a fellow student gets murdered you think to yourself, "Wow, that could have been me." When a police officer is murdered you think, "Wow, if criminals will kill cops, they would kill me without even hesitating." I don't really have a point to make here except the murders were very sad, and pointless.

Maybe someone can answer this for me... I know that homeless people exist everywhere in world, every major city, etc., but why aren't there laws against them? (I realize that was not conveyed eloquently.) I drive by homeless people who sit in the same place every day... under an overpass... on a street corner... wherever. Why can't police take this people somewhere far away? Haha... I realize that sounds stupid, but why has no one figured out a solution for that? This may even be off topic... but "cleaning up the city" is the goal here.