Detroit fireworks marred by at least two unexplained stampedes
It's sad that even if there were no shootings -- and so far, no one is confirming any shootings -- the mere fear of a shooting can lead to a stampede where people are unnecessarily getting hurt.
I would love the fireworks to remain, but I don't believe that they can in their current form. The DEMF model is the only solution I can think of, where people can pay to stay at Belle Isle and on Hart Plaza in a highly secured perimeter.
I think that people should be able to watch for free, but I don't know how to logistically accomplish that in a safe, secure way. I'm open to ideas. But things can't continue like this.
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2013/06/55th_annual_detroit_fireworks.html#incart_river_de fault
Shooting at the Detroit Fireworks, Causes Stampede...
Watching from my perch, 25 stories above the intersection of Jefferson and Woodward, were the most beautiful fireworks a Detroiter could hope for.
Then about 3 minutes in, I look down to see thousands of people running in every direction, knocking each other down and stepping on each other, parents holding their babies in the air for fear they would be stomped upon in the melee. Children knocked over and crushed into the steel barricades as young people carelessly ran for their lives. People running east on Jefferson literally ran up the 3-75 entrance ramp to get away, while others tried any door they could reach only to have security block their entrances. Cruisers ran into people as they raced to the scene, horses were rearing back in fear, and just when I thought this couldn't get any worse, more shots rang out, causing even more people to scatter. Then the fights started to break out on the street and in the buses. It was an absolute clusterfuk.
When all was said and done, I stood inside a lobby filled with injured people and crying children who had been separated from their parents, looking out into a street covered in shoes, strollers, garbage, and blood.
I've seen a lot of shit living in this town. And I've told you guys about some of these things hoping that you might gain some insight or understanding about the lives that some of us Detroiters endure in our pursuit of surviving this craziness. But in reflection, i find myself looking at Detroit through the eyes of the outsiders and thinking to myself: I really can't blame them for thinking so low of us, especially when stuff like this happens. What i saw tonight from my fellow Detroiters and the police makes me feel low, like we are exactly what they say we are. Uncivilized. Undeserving of a comeback. Unable to handle the most basic functions. I can only shake my head and think about the dozens of parents, children, and strangers in that lobby who fearfully took each others hands, stood in a circle and prayed to God for protection before they left the building to head home in the middle of that madness.
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/22...wntown-detroit