I live in E. Mt Airy, Northwest of Mt Airy Ave, South of Stenton. Wonderfully peaceful neighborhood except for one thing.....Often on warm nights, especially between 9PM and 11PM, i hear those short sharp pops, that I understand to be gunshots. They are off in the distance, always southwest of my house (south of probably Gorgas, or Vernon, sometimes north of Stenton - towards Germantown). Thing is they are rarely followed by police or ambo sirens. So, my questions are:

What are these sounds? Are they gunshots? Fireworks? Something else?

If they are indeed gunshots, why aren't they followed by a police response? Are people hearing them but not calling police? If so, WTF? That part of E Mt Airy is pretty densely populated so SOMEBODY would call it in, right? Am I naive to think this?? Are people that jaded?

I'd really like the responses to come from people who live in that area.......Southeast of Mt Airy Ave, in E. Mt Airy. Or anywhere in Mt Airy for that matter. I can't be the only one hearing this, right? What's the deal?

I've been hearing them alot lately. In fact..heard them last night around 10ish. I think it's firework season.

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HUH?

i've heard something like that as well, but deeper in sound. i thought it was some kind of weird thunderstorm. my husband said it was probably fireworks. the tamer kind are readily available in stores now.

I heard the noise last night too and it was far too many "pops" lasting too long to be gunfire. If there was that much gunfire there would be bodies and sirens. Agree with mtairygirl...we are coming up on the fourth.

For what it's worth, police statistic maps show violent crime to be unusual on the northeast side of the R7 in East Mount Airy in general and especially so in upper East Mount Airy. That said, there have been a few robberies along Stenton Avenue, the border between Mt Airy and Cedarbrook.

I heard these last night as well. My dogs were going crazy after every one. I assumed they were fireworks because the sound just like the ones that the kids used to set off in my old neighborhood (Fishtown).

Considering how long they went on (at least an hour), I assumed it was fireworks. (Hopefully there aren't tons of dead people in the neighborhood now! )

I live right on Vernon.

Most the bangs, this month, have been firecrackers. There have been a few that our neighbors all think were actually gun shots, though. The problem with these is simply the echo factor. If there is a fool firing a gun, and we don't see the fool, we don't know where the noise came from after it bounced all over the neighborhood. If we call the police and say, "gunshots somewhere," the best they can do is come out and drive around looking for something that looks like a crime scene.

If nobody was actually shot at, there won't be any sirens or noise like you are expecting.

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Bob Bruhin
Development Director, Delaware Valley Pagan Network
bruhinb@dvpn.org
http://dvpn.org/

When police get a call for a report of gunshots, they don't respond with lights and sirens. They come in quietly, so if somoeone is there, they may be caught. I have known a few people who have taken their guns into the park to fire them, not necessarily at anyone. It is usually later at night, and it's just for the sake of firing the weapon. If and when the police show up (quietly), the call is considered unfounded because there is no evidence of the weapon having been fired.

I live in Wissahickon/Roxborough near Lincoln Drive and can see the fireworks over the treetops from the Mann Center. I'm pretty sure they had a show the other evening. Could you be hearing the sounds from the summer fireworks shows? Just a thought...

I live in Gtown. It's definitely fireworks season. I hear them at night and they are def. not gunshots as they are too "clustered" sounding.

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Speaking of fireworks, there will be a display once again at the New Covenant Church next weekend after the Gospel Festival on their campus in the 7400-7500 blocks of Germantown Avenue. I am pretty sure it is Saturday evening.

Parking should be a real adventure with the Avenue the way it is, but the show last year was pretty spectacular and I would assume this year's will be as well, Bring a blanket or chairs and lay back and enjoy the show!

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Rich McIlhenny
Re/Max Services Inc.
www.Richmachomes.com
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