POLL: Do you Feel Safe in New Brunswick?
There have been several shootings and stabbings in different parts of the city in the last few weeks. Have these events impacted your feelings of safety?
Since September, there have been at least seven reports of shootings and stabbings in New Brunswick, two of them claiming the lives of young people.
On Sept. 27, Joshua Zhou, 19, was shot and killed in the basement of a Robinson Street house in what police say was a robbery attempt. Three men have been arrested and charged with felony murder in the case, and authorities are seeking two more.
On Sept. 21, a 21-year-old North Brunswick woman was killed outside of the Progressive Masonic Temple on Hale Street, and a 28-year-old man was wounded.
Jessica Torres left behind a two-year-old son, police say. As of Oct. 12, authorities have not announces any arrests in connection with her death.
On Sept. 22, a 20-year-old New Brunswick man was shot on Easton Avenue between Stuff Yer Face and Thomas Sweet, an area that is a popular hangout for Rutgers University students. The victim was not a Rutgers student.
At about this time last year, shootings in the city were unusually high. In November 2011, 15 gun related crimes were reported, according to an investigation done by New Brunswick Patch. Instances of violence in the city slowed down that following December into 2012.
Have the recent shootings in New Brunswick made you feel unsafe while in New Brunswick? Or is violence in the city nothing new? Tell us in the poll below.
Madzi
9:16 am on Saturday, October 13, 2012
NB WAS getting better--many years ago I wouldn't venture near it, let alone patronize the businesses there. I thought things were on an upswing and enjoyed the restaurants, theaters...well, with the latest round of shooting and stabbing deaths, forget it. There are LOTS of restaurants to give my money to that don't put my family's lives in jeopardy. Clean up your act, NB, or face deterioration again.
Donny
9:17 am on Saturday, October 13, 2012
My vote was "yes , I live here and all cities have risks " , but now I keep my firearms loaded and ready.1 have a lot of experience using my weapons and will not hesitate to pull the trigger to protect my family from anyone .Also I don't shoot to wound!!!!!
Madzi
9:28 am on Saturday, October 13, 2012
If I lived in NB, I'd make sure I was legally armed as well.
Donny
12:35 pm on Saturday, October 13, 2012
@madzi.... Let me add that I do have a federal firearms permit , unlike the thugs behind these other illegal use of a firearm.
Dave Blevins
3:32 pm on Saturday, October 13, 2012
I live in New Brunswick and do not fear the violence that is reported. One should know that these shootings are not random and are targeted by existing relationships.
Donny
3:43 pm on Saturday, October 13, 2012
Not true .the Birch ct killing is an example.
Madzi
3:47 pm on Saturday, October 13, 2012
Would that the bullets that fly by realize that.
2 year olds are hit by stray bullets that the shooter never meant to kill them with.
Having nearly been shot by a gun that was not really meant to be aimed at ME, that is small consolation...
AS
4:47 pm on Saturday, October 13, 2012
I went to Rutgers for both my undergrad and graduate degrees and I do not feel safe at night in New Brunswick. The problem is that the city was built on top of a low SES community and the people are not going to just go away -no matter how much they try to keep them confined to those few blocks btwn dgls campus and CAC. It is only common sense.
Ron Pezzi
11:11 pm on Saturday, October 13, 2012
DEVCO, Rutgers and the city are gradually squeezing the unfortunates into the Fifth ward and up against the hard wall of the North Brunswick border. Only problem is that the police won't patrol this slowly shrinking pocket of desperation and the residents and transients are beyond the reach of any safety net. It's going to get worse until the whole area up to about Ellen Street is torn down.
Corey A. Mayo
11:43 am on Sunday, October 14, 2012
I feel about as safe as I do when I'm in NYC.
Corey A. Mayo
1:43 pm on Sunday, October 14, 2012
Obviously the 'people' HAVE been going away (as you inelegantly state). There's a big difference between NB in' 85 and NB in 2012
Kristen Buterbaugh
1:51 pm on Sunday, October 14, 2012
Stories of shootings make me upset whether they're down my street, in a neighboring town or in another state. I live in New Brunswick and of course I am more upset when bad things happen near me, but taking precautions is the best I can do. The thing that upsets me more than this is that good, kind people either run away or load their weapons and there hardly seems room for peaceful confrontation of the problem. The problem is there are people who take advantage of nobody watching, so WATCH. Get out on the street and be the positive presence you wish to see in your community.