I'm glad I lock doors

[shant]

So last night, my friend, my roomate and I are getting back from a club. We live in Hollywood, CA, in a relatively trendy-shopping area known as Melrose. Anyway, we get out of the cab, and we walk up into our apartment. My roomate wants to get McD's, and since we're all drunk, he wants his brother to take him.

We walk inside, and we close our screen door, which is one of those heavy-duty metal doors that makes a lot of noise when you close it. My roomate is standing at the door, and we haven't closed the main door yet. Everyone I live with or who visits my house never locks the door, but I'm a pussy because I watched too much Unsolved Mysteries when I was a kid, so I walk back to the screen door and lock it.

There is sort of a long hallway thing that leads to our door. We here footsteps echoing into it as my roomate is yelling at his little bro to get off Halo and take him to McD's. My roomate still standing inside the doorway looks up as some random dude is jiggling our knob. The guy pulls a gun out, and points it at my roomate and says "Open this door nigga or I'll shoot you." He has the gun pressed up to the metal of the screen.

I can hear him but can't see him. My roomate is looking at the guy, glances down and makes sure the door is locked. He tells the guy he better shoot him because he's not opening the door. The guy looks at him for a minute, then turns around and runs away. This is when we called the cops.

The cops came, took a report, frisked my roomate because he fit the description (black dude) and then made some rounds looking for the guy. I'm not sure what happened because I stayed inside with the door locked and watched a Tivo'd episode of Blind Date.

Now, do you guys think this was a totally random encounter because we got out of a cab late at night, and made a lot of noise with our door open, attracting this guy off the street? Or does this guy know we're young and have a bunch of electronics and DVD's and now I'm screwed next time I want to open my patio door and get some air?

[istewart]

I'm with you on the whole locking doors thing. I'd probably have a different attitude if I lived in like North Dakota but I always, always do it.

Two words pretty much sum up your post.

BLACK PEOPLE

[spamuell]

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My roomate is looking at the guy, glances down and makes sure the door is locked. He tells the guy he better shoot him because he's not opening the door.

[/ QUOTE ]

So stupid.

[DeezNuts]

I don't know the answers to the questions you posed, but now you got me concerned because I live just East of that area basically on Melrose in a house(not sure if that's more or less secure). Time to double-check locked doors.

Is Melrose(bt. Fairfax/La Brea) that shady at night? I've had friends live there with no problems.

DN

[shant]

[ QUOTE ]
Is Melrose(bt. Fairfax/La Brea) that shady at night? I've had friends live there with no problems.

[/ QUOTE ]
I live on Waring, one block north of Melrose and east of La Brea. I think this is a great area to live in, and this is the first time in the year and a half I've lived here that I've had a problem.

The only thing shady about the area is the occassional homeless/crackhead dudes who come from Santa Monica Blvd / Highland area into this area.

[Vince Young]

WITH CRAZY NAMES

[gaming_mouse]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
My roomate is looking at the guy, glances down and makes sure the door is locked. He tells the guy he better shoot him because he's not opening the door.

[/ QUOTE ]

So stupid.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yet so sweet.

[istewart]

lmao

[Los Feliz Slim]

I used to live in/near that neighborhood. One of my roommates had her car stolen from in front of our apartment (on Detroit) and my neighboor was robbed at gunpoint in front of our place. Another friend of mine was robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight on a Sunday morning right near Melrose and Fairfax.

I think it was random because you got out of a cab late at night.

[Arnfinn Madsen]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
My roomate is looking at the guy, glances down and makes sure the door is locked. He tells the guy he better shoot him because he's not opening the door.

[/ QUOTE ]

So stupid.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is a natural reaction, guns are kind of intimidating and leads to anger, not fear.