As citizens, how are we supposed to feel safe if when we call our local police departments to report an incident, they tell us that someone may come out there but it’s not a high priority for them to pursue your problem?

ABC News aired a broadcast about a gunman named Jesse Enjaian Feb. 17. He was a 32-year-old computer science engineer who graduated from UCLA. Days before the incident, neighbors called numerous times to report to the police that a man had been shooting at their cars and writing negative things on their garages.

This neighborhood in Oakland has citizens who work hard, pay taxes and have families. These families went on for a week calling law enforcement and they did nothing.

There were two phone calls made to Oakland Police Department (OPD) within three days from the same street stating that someone had been shooting at their car. There was a man asleep in his car, woken up by gunfire across his front windshield when he woke up and ran for help he ran towards Mr. Enjaian standing behind his security gate telling the victim to “get away from here.”

Another incident occurred when an officer came to talk with Mr. Enjaian while he was on his lawn but before the officer can approach him, Mr. Enjaian he stated, “talk with my lawyer” and the officer turned around and left. This should have been a red flag to the officers that came out and to the department.

The OPD must have felt that this was not a high priority and this man should not have been taken into custody the first time someone called out for help to the police.

I feel if someone would have called and said that this Latino, Black or Muslim guy was out here doing these things the OPD would have been out in full force to stop the subject. As citizens of a community we need to take a stand and protect our families, friends and communities we live in.

We need more neighborhood watch programs, and more citizens to not be afraid to talk to the police department about crimes going on in our neighborhood maybe this will show the police that not everything that comes out of our mouths is lies or exaggerations. I find it unsafe to have and carry a gun with four small children in my home.

I feel that the only people who should be carrying guns are the police, sheriffs, correctional officers and deputies but they should also be accountable for all firearms they own.

As an African woman growing up in the United States I am always self-conscious on what is going on in my neighborhood or around my area. I have grown up in the worsened neighborhood and lived in the nicest neighborhood. It doesn’t matter where you live or stay, there are people who have beliefs that you could only imagine.

Everyone is raised differently and depending on your thoughts and the way you take things your life can be easy or can be hard. This young man was a troublesome kid.

Did they really have to kill him? Couldn’t they have shot him so that they could have detained him to ask him why and give him the help he was seeking? Don’t you think that he was trying to get himself killed?

I’m still trying to figure out how this man gets shots in his shoulder and ankle but ends up dyeing later on that evening.