Ping, ping, ping… Firecracker like sound echoed at front right of the bus. Weird time and place to have firecracker. People crunched down, hands covering their heads. So, it was gunshots.
It was hard to bend down in such a tight bus seat. How could people hide themselves so perfectly? It’s just like they were well trained for this kind of situation. Yes, they must be well prepared for it. Otherwise, how could they realize it was gunshots so fast at the first place?
“Shut the door! ” Some people yelled. Why did the bus driver open the door at the first place? It was not a bus stop. Why didn’t he just drive away, to a safe place, to somewhere far from the scene?
Some people picked up their cell phone and called. Was it their family? How I wished I had someone to call. It never occurred to me that they could be dialing 911.
Seconds or years passed. No more sound. Somebody was lying on the road at the left front of the bus. His red jacket told who he was. It was one of those guys who sold tickets for sky view of empire state building. One other red jacket guy was standing beside him, maybe pressing his wound to stop him bleeding.
One other lady in black was sitting on the other side of the street. She looked wound, too. She must be one unlucky pedestrian on her way to work or tour. One other lady was helping her. Were they related? Or was she just one kind hearted pedestrian?
Someone took out their cell phones to take picture. Damn the sun blocking window. No good picture could be taken behind it, even though it was a very good view. People in the bus was still crunching low. Maybe I should do that, too. But the seat was too tight. There had never been another moment when I wished I could be shorter.
The man sat beside me laughed. He said:”I want to hide, too. ” And he hided behind my back. Yes, it was easier to do it this way. And his laugh made me relief. Maybe it was ok after all.
A few more minutes passed. Should I wait longer? There was only one block left from where I was heading for. And was it the first time I get to this side of the city this early? What the luck!
Someone pushed the back door and got down. And some more. Maybe I should do that, too.
Sirens were nearby. The street seemed crowded again, as crowded as nothing had ever happened. Pedestrians passed by the wounded red jacket guy like he was not there. The lady in black was still sitting there. Someone else was lying not far away from her.
Lots of police cars, and more were driving in. I admired their speed of reaction. And I had never known there were so many police in this area. I mean, I knew there were a lot, but that many?
One woman in jeans was bleeding not far away. When I said not far, I meant it was right in front of me. She was sitting with one of her legs covered in blood. The shoe on that leg was off. One lady was supporting her back, comforting her. Was she her daughter?
She had tears over her face. It must be hurt. I wanted to take picture. But it was so impolite to catch people at their worst moment. I took one anyway, showing only her legs but not her face.
More blood on the floor. Was it from the woman in jeans? Or was it somebody else’s? Where were the ambulances? Shouldn’t they be here by now? I didn’t want to see the victims lying on the floor without help.
Would it be on the news sometime soon? What’s going on? Why the shooting?
Picture posted on Facebook. Picture posted on Twitter, too. It was a big news anyway.
No news on the twitter yet. Twitter wasn’t that fast after all. I would check back later. Meanwhile, one other picture to Weibo.
“Run away, quick!” said one reply on Facebook.
Haha, what an early bird. It was great that I had someone to talk to. I couldn’t calm down. Facebook was great!
CNN posted the gunshots in Twitter. Wow! It’s fast! Was that only a few minutes? Ok, now NYTimes, too. And some other media. Yeah, who could remember you if you were not the first?
“The street is blocked. And the media says the suspect is shot. ” said another reply on Facebook.
That’s fast. I thought it would take a few hours. Yeah, news on Twitter confirmed the story. Numbers of injuries varied. Numbers of dead, too. Just keep tell me more. Time can compensate for accuracy.
Relies.
Twits.
Work from home emails.
Phone call from manager. “Are you OK? Sreeja told me you were at the scene. I was shocked to see the picture. ”
“Yes, I am fine. I am at the doctor’s place right now… Oh, no, not because I am wounded. It’s just an appointment…”
Excitements continued for the whole morning.
34th street from 5th to 7th were completely blocked. What a crowd! Could they see anything this late? I guessed they were just taking pictures of the crowd itself anyway.
Cameras.
Reporters.
“May I ask you some questions?”
“Sure. I heard the gunshots…”
“You heard the gunshot? Where were you at that time? ” excitement on her face. She started taking notes. It’s great to get attention sometime.
“What were people doing?”
“Were you scared? ”
“Would you be concerned about living in New York?”
…
She’s professional. I could tell, by judging the points she asked.
She handed me her card. It’s some media I’ve never heard. Googling. So it is about technology. Is it related to events in New York in any aspect?
“I am back, safe!”
“Are you ok? ” a warm welcome by the small group still at the office.
Story telling.
Picture showing.
Time for lunch.
More story telling.
Knowledge sharing on the news.
Topic got cool down.
Someone asked for photos.
Some more replies on Facebook.
Less and less.
Twitter posts with complete story.
So it was about a rebel got fired last year. His co-worker was the target. He was shot by the police. The point of the story was that the police shot innocent people by accident as well.
End of story.
…
Maybe not the end for the victims. It may be just a start.
But who knows? Who cares?
Hot topic today will be outdated tomorrow.
It is an interesting story, but just a story, until one day the gunshots happen right before me.
