Our TU Mail Inboxes are a source of information, whether it be about bookstore promotions, announcements from our professors or updates from the student organizations we’re involved in. We find it easy to put these notifications in the back of our minds, especially when haunting messages about crimes happening near Temple’s campus are brought to our attention.
One such campus-wide sent message, which detailed a September 5, 2011 double shooting on the 2300 block of North 12th Street, provoked both fear and outrage through students and faculty members. Police say Temple University student Robert Eells, 21, of Bucks County, was shot in the abdomen by a 15-year-old would-be robber. What makes the shooting an unusual one is that Eells, who was sitting in front of his house at 1:45 AM, fired back at the young boy; shooting him in the chest and leg.
According to Metro:Philadelphia, Eells’ neighbors have two more shocking dimensions to add to the story. First off, Eells fired his gun at the young boy once he ran off after shooting Eells. Neighbors claim that although one may have a license to carry a gun, he had no right to shoot the boy when he was no longer a threat. Also, they speculated that many Temple tenants sit outside on their stoops, smoking and drinking into the early hours of the morning; possibly explaining why Eells was outside at the time. A block captain,who only identified herself as Brenda to Metro:Philadelphia, said they [the neighbors] tried addressing this issue with Temple tenants living on the block, but claimed that the unresponsive students “were basically on a racial tension thing.” Brenda also expressed her concerns about Temple police caring more about the safety of Temple students than of local residents.
For an area that houses as many students as it does residents, it’s hard to believe that many think a rift exists between the two groups. If Temple students are willing to live on the same streets as local residents, they should be willing to talk to them. Regardless of demographic differences between the two groups, they share one common connection: at the end of a long day, they all turn down the same street to go home. Since all these people consider home (a place where one bases his daily life out of, as well as a sense of community) to be in one surrounding area, they should compromise with each other for the sake of creating a safer environment.
With that said, Temple students should not be ignoring local residents if they’re trying to reach out to them. If neighbors are asking students not to sit outside smoking and drinking their night away, they should seriously take that into consideration. If they’re making noise and are set off by other distractions on the street, they’re disrupting the peace of mind of their other neighbors, both students and locals. This does not go to say that the neighbors could have avoided the fate of confronting a would-be robber, such as Eells did, but sitting outside with a gun in hand clearly creates commotion and unwanted crime.
Hopefully students and local residents alike will learn from Eells’ situation and make it a habit to protect themselves in the future. Staying inside and taking extra security measures, such as putting bars and extra locks on windows and doors to prevent forbidden entry into one’s home, will help anyone avoid the danger of confronting a criminal’s attempt to steal material items and, disturbingly, life. Residents should definitely utilize actions to protect themselves, but when it’s time to report and prevent crime, they should put doing so into the hands of the police.
While Temple police do value the safety of the University’s students, they also have a responsibility to cater to the needs of local residents. Block captain Brenda told Metro:Philadelphia that she plans to protest against the “perceived injustice” of the Temple police putting the needs of students first. Since she purportedly called about the late night activity coming from Eells’ house prior to the shooting, the police should have investigated the situation and reprimanded Eells for his inconsiderate behavior in order to prevent something worse from happening. If they would have addressed the complaints, they would have taken an extra measure to ensure the safety of Temple students, as well as address a concern which plagues local residents.
As for reducing the amount of criminal activity happening in the area, police should increasingly patrol the area. Temple students, as well as locals, often do see the yellow and blue uniformed police biking around certain streets, but they should definitely expand the range of areas they choose to patrol. Perhaps more police activity, in addition to a more enlightened awareness of the issues happening in the immediate area, would create a safer, calmer environment for both Temple students and local residents to thrive in.
Without a doubt, the shooting in front of Eells’ home should never have happened. It is important, however, for students, faculty, Temple employees, and all who live in the surrounding area to take something good away from the heinous happening. All those who were impacted by the shooting, either first or second hand, can now say their eyes have been opened to the need for students, local residents, and police to come together and work toward making Temple’s campus, and Philadelphia, a secure and stable place to live.