stabbing at the landing

[Adam W]

Its tragic & needs to be talked about, but I def don't think you can chalk this one up to "just another murder in good ol Jax". This was pretty random & just plain weird, so it really could have happened anywhere.

A lot of that could be said about the murders that happen in Jax and anywhere, for that matter. This should look bad for Jax, in asmuch as it should look bad for anywhere. It's random, sure, but it's a murder. It's unfortunate, but a guy got killed.

But I don't know what criteria we can apply to murder to make the kind of murder we can "chalk up" to Jax. Maybe only gang-related murder? Or gun crime? Murder is murder.

We all know that Jax has a problem with murder. I bet a lot of the murders that take place in the city are seemingly random crimes that could've happened anywhere. That doesn't make them any less of a problem.

[Tacachale]

It may not have been random. The latest news is that Hinson was a chef at the Hyatt where Pettry and his friend (and the Chicago Bears) were staying. Additionally, they evidently were talking at the bar before moving together to a bench where the stabbing occurred.

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-10-08/story/bears-fans-throat-cut-after-he-spoke-suspects-wife-landing-police-say

No matter what, it's impossible to imagine that anything he could have said justified this. It's a tragedy all around.

[Nightman_Cometh]

This is terrible.  Whenever I tell people I live in Jacksonville, I usually get a "Why do you live there?"  and people always compare it to New Orleans in that, all they ever hear about Jacksonville are depressing things and high crime rates.  This obviously doesnt help.

[rohicks]

As sure as I type this, I already know the responses this post will elicit, but here goes....

I understand how we can all look at this from the outside, how this travesty took place without as much as a second thought, but I'm making the assumption that no one posting thier anger has ever been intoxicated to the point that rational decisions are no longer 'rational'. 

I'll try to put it in perspective from the angry, jealous drunk guy (won't be too hard...    )  You're teetering on black-out drunk from an entire day of drinking, you see some dude in [insert team that is not your favorite] chatting it up with your wife and you don't even exchange words - just a 'harmless' cut to tell the dude to back the fuck up.  Did you plan to sever his artery - HELL NO!, it was just supposed to be a nick, but in your stupor, your 'nick' ended up slicing right through this other dude's aorta...  It's a game you play with your friends....  Just a little stick.   This time it went too far and unfortunately someone lost his life. 

Some guys punch, some guys play knives, hell, some guys like to pull guns - it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, right?  I'm also going to lay this out there - while the Bears fan may have had absolutely ZERO ill will or bad intention, when you think about the situation - 3 kids, wife at home, hanging with friends in another city for a FB game.....   not saying he did, but it's hard to think that he was completely without fault.  He may have been a standup guy, but let's not look past the situation at hand. 

Alcohol is a hell of a drug.

I just registered on this site because I've just read the above reply, and it's the most absurd reply I've ever read on any public forum. Just a harmless cut? I don't know how you grew up or what sick games you played in your childhood, but I know of no one that plays 'stick your friend'.

To try and justify this killer's actions with a "harmless" or "oh maybe he only meant to nick the guy" is reckless in your own words and is so absurd as the situation itself.

[peestandingup]

Its tragic & needs to be talked about, but I def don't think you can chalk this one up to "just another murder in good ol Jax". This was pretty random & just plain weird, so it really could have happened anywhere.

A lot of that could be said about the murders that happen in Jax and anywhere, for that matter. This should look bad for Jax, in asmuch as it should look bad for anywhere. It's random, sure, but it's a murder. It's unfortunate, but a guy got killed.

But I don't know what criteria we can apply to murder to make the kind of murder we can "chalk up" to Jax. Maybe only gang-related murder? Or gun crime? Murder is murder.

We all know that Jax has a problem with murder. I bet a lot of the murders that take place in the city are seemingly random crimes that could've happened anywhere. That doesn't make them any less of a problem.

True, murder is murder. But people don't usually randomly stab strangers in bars here, or really anywhere here. We have our problems, but this isn't Detroit, or Gary IN, or Camden NJ, or even Chicago. Where they rob people while they sit at a red light. Those are city problems, meaning most the crime there is a direct connection to vast swaths of their towns being shit holes & breeding grounds for criminals who have nothing to lose.

Jacksonville isn't that. Thats all I was saying. So bringing up downtown or pointing the finger at Jax, like what happened is some byproduct of our town, isn't really fair just because some mental patient decided to go off his meds & randomly stab someone.

And look, I'm not taking up for the town at all. You all know me, I'm never shy of being critical of the faults here. But this could have easily happened in some other part of town. It could have happened at the Avenues or at a bar around SJTC just the same. But because its was downtown, now they're gonna have a field day with it. But its the media, so I wouldn't expect anything less.

[johnnyman]

Yeah, I have to admit, I have never played "stick your buddy" either.    

[ben says]

Its tragic & needs to be talked about, but I def don't think you can chalk this one up to "just another murder in good ol Jax". This was pretty random & just plain weird, so it really could have happened anywhere.

A lot of that could be said about the murders that happen in Jax and anywhere, for that matter. This should look bad for Jax, in asmuch as it should look bad for anywhere. It's random, sure, but it's a murder. It's unfortunate, but a guy got killed.

But I don't know what criteria we can apply to murder to make the kind of murder we can "chalk up" to Jax. Maybe only gang-related murder? Or gun crime? Murder is murder.

We all know that Jax has a problem with murder. I bet a lot of the murders that take place in the city are seemingly random crimes that could've happened anywhere. That doesn't make them any less of a problem.

True, murder is murder. But people don't usually randomly stab strangers in bars here, or really anywhere here. We have our problems, but this isn't Detroit, or Gary IN, or Camden NJ, or even Chicago. Where they rob people while they sit at a red light. Those are city problems, meaning most the crime there is a direct connection to vast swaths of their towns being shit holes & breeding grounds for criminals who have nothing to lose.

Jacksonville isn't that. Thats all I was saying. So bringing up downtown or pointing the finger at Jax, like what happened is some byproduct of our town, isn't really fair just because some mental patient decided to go off his meds & randomly stab someone.

And look, I'm not taking up for the town at all. You all know me, I'm never shy of being critical of the faults here. But this could have easily happened in some other part of town. It could have happened at the Avenues or at a bar around SJTC just the same. But because its was downtown, now they're gonna have a field day with it. But its the media, so I wouldn't expect anything less.

+100

[Adam W]

Its tragic & needs to be talked about, but I def don't think you can chalk this one up to "just another murder in good ol Jax". This was pretty random & just plain weird, so it really could have happened anywhere.

A lot of that could be said about the murders that happen in Jax and anywhere, for that matter. This should look bad for Jax, in asmuch as it should look bad for anywhere. It's random, sure, but it's a murder. It's unfortunate, but a guy got killed.

But I don't know what criteria we can apply to murder to make the kind of murder we can "chalk up" to Jax. Maybe only gang-related murder? Or gun crime? Murder is murder.

We all know that Jax has a problem with murder. I bet a lot of the murders that take place in the city are seemingly random crimes that could've happened anywhere. That doesn't make them any less of a problem.

True, murder is murder. But people don't usually randomly stab strangers in bars here, or really anywhere here. We have our problems, but this isn't Detroit, or Gary IN, or Camden NJ, or even Chicago. Where they rob people while they sit at a red light. Those are city problems, meaning most the crime there is a direct connection to vast swaths of their towns being shit holes & breeding grounds for criminals who have nothing to lose.

Jacksonville isn't that. Thats all I was saying. So bringing up downtown or pointing the finger at Jax, like what happened is some byproduct of our town, isn't really fair just because some mental patient decided to go off his meds & randomly stab someone.

And look, I'm not taking up for the town at all. You all know me, I'm never shy of being critical of the faults here. But this could have easily happened in some other part of town. It could have happened at the Avenues or at a bar around SJTC just the same. But because its was downtown, now they're gonna have a field day with it. But its the media, so I wouldn't expect anything less.

I see where you're coming from now.

I guess I didn't quite get that at first. I also was thinking about that guy who got his eyes cut out of his head at Starlight. He didn't die, of course, but that was crazy. And it was just so random. And there was that girl who got shot over in those apartments by Pizza Palace (she was the girlfriend of a friend's friend). That was so weird and random (it was a random stalker thing that I think started at the Landing).

I don't think any of that stuff was Jacksonville stuff, per se. Jacksonville is no worse than anywhere else, I guess - it's like any other big city that has lots of people. Lots of crazy people.

[zedsdead]

It's depressing as hell, which ever  way up  you look at it.

[coredumped]

A Jacksonville man has setup a fund for the victims family:
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/Jacksonville-man-helps-Fionn-MacCools-murder/ErYTvMxsPEu-GcRx4jBSmg.cspx

[Keith-N-Jax]

That's good news, glad someone stepped in to make a move like that. Hope it helps the family.

[SunKing]

Sad, tragic, a shame, yes.
You hate to see this kind of tragedy, especially in your hometown but I dont know why this is a "Jacksonville" thing though.  Aside from the above emotive thoughts, the next thing that ran through my mind was that the event was so ironic as Chicago is the murder capital of the US.

[duvaldude08]

Sad, tragic, a shame, yes.
You hate to see this kind of tragedy, especially in your hometown but I dont know why this is a "Jacksonville" thing though.  Aside from the above emotive thoughts, the next thing that ran through my mind was that the event was so ironic as Chicago is the murder capital of the US.

I agree. Something like this could have happened anywhere and definately could not have been prevented. There are just some wack jobs luncatics out there. A crime of this nature is a "black eye" to any city. I just wish we would stop acting like Jax is the only place that crime or murder occurs. It is what it is.

[Pinky]

First off, what a terrible thing to have happen.  My heart goes out to the guy, and especially to his family. 

I live downtown, and Sunday morning ran into a bunch of Bears fans while waiting at Einstein Bagels on the back of the Hyatt.  (There's no place else really to grab a bite within walking distance on sundays downtown...  Cough cough Ron Chamblin)  Anyway, I had a few minutes to chat these folks up, and it turns out that because seats are SO hard to find at Soldier Field and so expensive if you can find them, it's actually economically feasible to grab a cheap flight into Jax, buy some reasonable seats at the Stadium, and stay at a riverfront hotel while doing it.  They were having a great time and had really complimentary things to say about our city.

Anyway, I'm always looking for opportunity, and it struck me that the Jags and the City should really promote the heck out of that angle.  Maybe TV ads on football games a month before those teams play here: "Come here, you can stay on the river and see your favorite team and it's all organized for you with ground transportation from the airport and stadium shuttles"..  Hell, play up on the southern hospitality angle with "Tailgate Foster Families" even.  Jax could become the "Away Game Capital Of The World", a dick-free, warm, friendly place for football fans from all over.  I had the whole thing worked out in my mind; it was pure marketing genius.  (I hadn't worked out how it could translate into an income for The Pink Man, but figured something would eventually trickle out of it..)

And then some dick goes and stabs a visiting fan.  Y'know, because *anything* could be important enough to kill some dude over in a bar.  Oh Jacksonville...  Perennial loser sad-sack town that I love so much, always tripping over it's own feet.  My great idea didn't even survive Jax for a half a day.

[Ocklawaha]

In a city that is 30 miles by 30 miles, almost identical in area to the bulk of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, there are always going to be those who, for whatever reason, shouldn't be allowed to wander the streets without escort or medication. Some time ago, such a guy would likely have been warehoused in an asylum. The ever busy do-gooders with every right intention decided that was cruel and with the aid of a movie (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) a high level decision was made to turn these people out on our streets. That decision in retrospect might have unintentionally been even more cruel.

So an innocent fan gets his throat slashed in Jacksonville, Idaho State players are shot in a bar, and countless other crimes are committed against visitors to distant cities. Wrong, YES! Unique to Jacksonville, NO! While we are certainly not the biggest dog in the NFL's collection of metropolitan area's, WE ARE A BIG DOG, REGARDLESS. These things happen in cities all across the globe, you do whatever you can to make it right and move on.

Your idea is a fine one, and I see no reason why a random death in Jacksonville, or Los Angeles, or Detroit, or... should make a bit of difference. This concept could take wing!