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S.E. COOK |
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It was a clear, cool morning and I could see my breath making clouds in the air
before my face as I walked to work. Late as usual, I was moving right along. Down 12th
Street… hoping for the light to change fast at Center… hustling across the street… my mind kept
mental tabs on my progress. I had to pass through the State office complex and then
cross State Street to the University. That would make me 10 to 15
minutes late by the time I walked through the front door.
I had just crossed 12th Street and was walking down Center next to the State Police headquarters. My mind was still ticking off the blocks when I heard a loud crack. My head jerked up involuntarily and I saw a pickup truck crossing the street. Must've been a backfire, I thought to myself. But I was uneasy. At the corner, I turned south and stopped in my tracks. There on the ground, halfway down the block, was the body of man slumped on the sidewalk. As I looked on in amazement, several people ran out of the building toward him. Stunned, I wondered if he had been shot. I found my feet carrying me across the street and away from the scene of panic and confusion. The one thing I remember is meeting a security cop in the middle of the street. He was moving toward the disturbance. Our eyes met and we exchanged a look of incredulity. He had a small wry smile on his face and I shook my head. The rest of my walk to work didn't even register consciously. When I walked through the front door, the receptionist stopped me with an urgency in her voice. "Did you hear what just happened?" she asked me. "Some guy with a grudge against the State Police Superintendent just shot and killed him in front of the State Police headquarters!" |
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