TOLEDO, Ohio —
The historic Polish Village neighborhood on the corner of Central Ave. and Lagrange St. in north Toledo has been left shaken after the shooting death of Lawrenczel Taylor III, the 66th homicide in the city this year.
Taylor, a Woodward High School graduate and Chrysler employee, was only 21 when he was gunned down in his vehicle on December 9th.
"So I just heard this 'pop, pop, pop' about 9 to 12 times, and it scared the crap out of me. So I said, 'let me get up out of the way of these windows', and I said, 'boy it's always something,' said Cynthia Burrell, a Lagrange Street resident who lives only a block away from the shooting. She says after all of violence in the area, she's had enough.
"God is moving me out as we speak, I'm getting out of here, because I didn't come this far to sit on my couch and get killed," said Burrell.
Other area residents have been affected as well. Amy Reed is the owner of the Ohio Theater and the building Taylor crashed into next door. She says they planned on renovating the building and using it as a costume and rehearsal space, but now those plans will be put on hold while they deal with the damage. However, she emphasizes the building is far from her biggest concern.
"Buildings can be repaired, ya know? But I think the tragedy of human life being lost was more impactful to me than the building itself," said Reed.
Reed says that violence is an unfortunate reality of life in Toledo but she will continue to work in the area.
Jerry Henning, a senior at the Chester J. Zablocki Community Center just across the street from the shooting, remembers a time when the neighborhood wasn't a hotbed for crime.
"A lot of things have moved out of here over the years - the festival, a lot of businesses - because of the violence and everything around the senior center, and the Polish Village area," said Henning.
Neighbors like Burrell say that only three or four years ago, the loudest thing she heard on the street were the cars at night. Now, she hears gunshots almost constantly.
"This is becoming an every other day thing. You know, they're not thinking about their lives or no one else's. it hurts," said Burrell.
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