My morning walk bore a little more excitement than usual. Just awhile ago I was walking west on McFaddin Avenue and saw the police blocking off a street ahead. By the time I had walked up to the scene, the cops had already left. Neighbors there said a 17-year-old boy was found shot to death on the sidewalk around 5:30 a.m.
The lady who discovered the body said the victim, identified as being either Hispanic or Asian, may have been dumped out at the location about two hours before. Another neighbor said the victim’s face “was real messed up” and he initially thought the young man may have been beaten. But police said he had been shot.
That area of Beaumont, Texas, is all part of the Old Town area in which I live. Just down the street is the historic McFaddin-Ward mansion. This particular section of Old Town could be described as a “working-class” neighborhood. Still it’s normally pretty quiet.
Like I told the dude before leaving: “It’s a hell of a way to start a Monday.”