Wild West

I live in a pretty nice part of Charlotte, close to an area where people buy million dollar homes. It's not the hood. I never feel nervous, but I'll admit the following email weirded me out a bit. It's a description of a crime that took place at the shopping mall where I buy my groceries and along my jogging route. Totally random and weird. I was considering taking a jog around the time this happened this morning, but opted to lounge in bed and read. My sloth was inspired!

From today's police report:

An armed robbery suspect fleeing police at a high rate of speed crashed at the intersection of Scott Avenue and East Blvd. Shortly after 9:30 this morning, Saturday, August 9, 2008. The suspect is in critical condition at CMC and the occupants of the van he hit sustained minor injuries.

The incident began when the suspect attempted to rob a woman at gunpoint in a parking lot across the street from Park Road Shopping Center. The victim, who received minor injuries as she fought off the suspect, flagged down a CMPD officer who was driving by. The suspect fled that scene on foot, taking a path through a breezeway of a nearby church and headed toward a parking lot on Ashcraft. Witnesses showed the officer the direction in which the suspect headed and he pursued on foot. The suspect tossed the gun he had been carrying up onto the roof adjacent to the breezeway. That gun has been recovered.

The suspect got into a blue Mustang and took off northbound on Park Road at a high rate of speed. A second CMPD Officer was in the vicinity and spotted the suspect vehicle. The officer turned his marked police unit around, activated blue lights and siren and began to follow the suspect vehicle, which at this point is estimated to be several hundred yards ahead of him speeding down Park Road.

The officer lost sight of the suspect vehicle until he came upon the crash site at Scott and East.

Is that a Law and Order episode, or what? Like I said, I actually live in a very nice, safe part of town. I know it's just a matter of time before I get a call from my mom telling me I'm not allowed to go jogging any more. Don't worry mom. I hardly need an excuse to stop jogging. I hate it anyway.