Citizen Appreciation

Letters, we get letters:

• Hello SSC,
  
  I've long been a civilian lurker of your blog. I've found it interesting and informative but have never had a reason to write to you. The events of this morning have compelled me to write.
  
  A little after 6:30am Sunday morning my wife and I were awoken by gunshots very close by. Due to the mild night we had the windows open and there was no mistaking the 6-7 distinct pops that could be nothing but a gun discharging. (For some reason my wife always hears firecracker and asks me if it is gunfire. Today, when it actually was a gun, she asked me if it was firecrackers. Go figure.) I immediately grabbed the phone and called 911 and informed the dispatcher that I was just awoken to the sound of 6-7 gunshots and now there is a women in the street sobbing loudly. Within a minute there were 2 cops on the scene and two minutes later the area was absolutely swarming with police.
  
  I am a little weak on hard facts but from what I've heard from my neighbors this is what happened: While we had initially assumed gang involvement, the incident was the result of a man either leaving or getting kicked out of his wife's/girlfriend's apartment after a long night of drinking. From the sidewalk he fired 5-6 shots into the building and then turned the gun on himself falling dead on the sidewalk. No one else was injured.
  
  During this entire incident the responding officers dealt with a situation full of unknowns, grieving and distraught family members, and a concerned general public. I saw a police and fire department working together quickly and professionally to understand the crime scene and attempt to save a man's life. For that I would like to offer a sincere thank you to the police officers of the 17th District. Know that there are people who live in Chicago who do not judge an entire department based on the mistakes of a few.
  
  Sincerely,
  Jon M.

If only we could publish a letter like this daily, we'd feel a lot better about where the Department was in terms of citizen support. But these letters are few and far between.

In any case, Thanks for the kind words Jon M. We appreciate the support more than you know.