I was going to call this post “Welcome to the Ypsi Occupation,” but thought that might be a bit too inflamatory

My post on this weekend’s shootings in Ypsilanti elicited the following response from a reader calling himself Edweird.
policetank

This is what I was able to gather from a few different sources (a neighbor who lives near the house in question, the news reporter trying to give her report to the camera, and a cop on the scene I talked to afterwards):

A group of Honduran immigrants were living in a house on Young Street. According to my neighbor they had parties pretty often, but were otherwise not a problem. Around 4am Sunday morning one of their parties fell apart as someone was stabbed then someone was shot. By the time the police arrived, four people had barricaded themselves in the house. None of them spoke any English so it was difficult to communicate with them. Without knowing who or how many people were in there, the police assumed it was a potential hostage situation and acted accordingly. Once they got the people out they swept the house and then started trying to figure out the particulars of the stabbing and shooting. It all ended around 11:30am but Young Street was closed until around 1-2pm. I wouldn’t exactly say this is the official word, but it’s what I was able to piece together.

I never knew we had a tank.

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26 Comments

  1. Posted April 13, 2010 at 7:24 am | Permalink

    BTW that tank didn’t just stroll down my street. It flew by the house and shook it like nothing I’ve felt in the four years I’ve owned my house.

  2. Ken T
    Posted April 13, 2010 at 7:40 am | Permalink

    It’s a good thing we rounded up the Hutaree before this post. This picture of a government tank rolling through Ypsi may have set them off.

  3. Lawrence Kastoner
    Posted April 13, 2010 at 8:00 am | Permalink

    Before there were tanks, there were axes.

    They were a lot cheaper.

    http://ypsiciti.com/section/Opinions/Police+ax+%27House+of+All+Nations%27-article-1839.html

  4. Rob
    Posted April 13, 2010 at 8:57 am | Permalink

    That’s not a tank, it’s an old m113 personnel carrier, a real tank would crush it like the magnesium-shelled “van” that it is.

  5. Rob
    Posted April 13, 2010 at 9:11 am | Permalink

    Still……… I’m sure its more than those scared-shitless Hondurans had. By the way, it’s actually aluminum hulled for the most part– I seemed to have been confused by the up-armored version we ran around in, which was a very uncomfortable ride. Cramped. Ya couldn’t stand up in the thing. Beat walking though.

  6. M
    Posted April 13, 2010 at 9:34 am | Permalink

    I am curious how it was confirmed that ALL the occupants of the house were Honduran? Also, seems very important to know how recently immigrated they are. I think we can ALL agree that the more recent the immigration the more loathsome they are. Unlike ALL of US who immigrated longer ago and have since become great Americans.

  7. Kim
    Posted April 13, 2010 at 10:10 am | Permalink

    I agree. First generation Americans should get a pass on stabbings and shootings. It’s kind of to be expected with the newfound freedom.

  8. Brackinald Achery
    Posted April 13, 2010 at 10:24 am | Permalink

    The real tragedy here is that if Beal would just stop Bogarting his taxes, the community could have two tanks.

  9. Alfonso
    Posted April 13, 2010 at 11:05 am | Permalink

    Beal wants the terrorists to win.

  10. Mike Shecket
    Posted April 13, 2010 at 11:43 am | Permalink

    Well, if Beal paid the taxes on just a couple of his properties, Ypsi could get a Badonkadonk.

  11. Larry Seven Larry
    Posted April 13, 2010 at 12:59 pm | Permalink

    Not to be confused with badunkadunk.

    Which we also need a lot more of in Ypsi.

    http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/badunkadunk

  12. Posted April 13, 2010 at 6:17 pm | Permalink

    @ M: Yes this is kind of an assumption based on what my neighbor said (who talked to the residents often) and what the cop said of the incident. The cop was leery of giving out too much info btw.

    @Kim: That shit was funny.

  13. Posted April 13, 2010 at 6:19 pm | Permalink

    And, yes, thank you all for your funny and wonderful comments. And thanks, Edweird, for your coverage of this incident.

  14. Hot Knuckle Lover
    Posted April 14, 2010 at 12:12 am | Permalink

    Whatever it’s made of, that fucking tank should be cruising around Ypsi 24/7. Holy crap that would kick ass. Imagine coming out of a concert at the Elbow and seeing that motherfucker rumbling. I can’t believe they don’t roll it out more.

  15. Kim
    Posted April 14, 2010 at 9:00 am | Permalink

    I’d rather we get a Robocop. But, if this is all we’ve got, I say we park it at the intersection of Ballard and Cross, where these shootings keep taking place, and have it fire off a few blanks every night, just to keep people on the straight and narrow.

  16. Alicia
    Posted April 14, 2010 at 9:14 am | Permalink

    Hasn’t the tank made an appearance in a few Heritage Festival parades? It’s part of the city’s heritage now, apparently…

  17. Me
    Posted April 14, 2010 at 3:54 pm | Permalink

    Everyone there are not immigrats and that family has lived in that house for more then five years that i know of. That was not the only race there the victims where actually black.

  18. Knockoutkinglos
    Posted April 15, 2010 at 3:29 am | Permalink

    Before you go talking bad about people and calling them immigrants, you should do your research. The family that lives in that house has lived there for the past 15 years and are U.S. citizens.

  19. Posted April 15, 2010 at 5:48 am | Permalink

    I for one don’t see referring to someone as an immigrant to be an insult. And, to me, that seems like a fairly minor part of the story anyway. The more significant thing is that there was both stabbing and shooting going on at their home. I’d like to know why that was.

  20. M
    Posted April 15, 2010 at 11:43 pm | Permalink

    Exactly the point, Mark. The supposed “facts” that have been “reported” are irrelevant (immigrant status, nationality, English fluency, etc.).

  21. kjc
    Posted April 16, 2010 at 7:50 am | Permalink

    thank you M. agreed!

  22. Edward
    Posted April 16, 2010 at 8:36 am | Permalink

    Fluency is an issue, if it impacts how the police respond. And, personally, I was interested to know that we have Hondurans living in town. I didn’t know that. Still, I agree with the point that it’s not relevant. Which isn’t to say that Edweird shouldn’t have brought it up. He was simply reporting what he heard being said. He wasn’t making any judgment call about Hondurans.

  23. ytown
    Posted April 17, 2010 at 12:33 pm | Permalink

    Lived here for 15yrs, yet don’t speak english? This obviously put a strain on an already stressful situation. Borders, Language, Culture!!!

  24. Posted April 17, 2010 at 2:29 pm | Permalink

    I know there’s a Nazi equivalent of “Borders, Language, Culture,” but it escapes me at the moment.

  25. Mel
    Posted April 20, 2010 at 5:38 pm | Permalink

    @Me (wow, that’s weird. I feel like I’m commenting at myself.) Anyhow, perhaps I’m just being ignorant here, but can’t Hondurans be black? Just saying….
    But, like many others have commented, I don’t think race/ethnicity is the real issue here. The real issue is: why did I have to find out via Facebook that we had a tank/personnel carrier? I thought “Commander Bob” (http://www.ypsilantihistoricalsociety.org/markers/marker24.html) was the only tank in town…and, yes, maybe the Ypsi 5-0 should roll that bad boy out more often.

  26. Brackinald Achery
    Posted April 20, 2010 at 8:43 pm | Permalink

    If we had two tanks, we could make them fight.

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