On January 30th Rey Alberto Davis Bell walked into the Philadelphia Cheese Steak restaurant on 23rd and Union, just seven blocks from the reconstruction site of Garfield, and shot two men. One was killed and the other placed in critical condition in what the police are calling a domestic attack.

According to Garfield junior Shantea Cardenas, this attack was just one incident in a string of violence in the neighborhood that began around New Years Eve. “It seems like every day since New Years some one has died or been hurt.” Said Cardenas “One guy tried to kill his mom, another tried to kill his mom and dad. It’s all kinds of people all races.”

Seattle Vocational Institute student Luther Rodney said the violence has become so consistent that the community is becoming numb to it. Rodney said that since the shooting at the Cheese Steak restaurant, “People have been acting the same. People are just used to it. People are just dying every day.”

Garfield Community Center Coordinator Mavita Maraire has a suggestion about how to combat this numbness. “Anytime these acts of violence are committed I think our community is deeply effected by the loss and a sense of vulnerability,” said Maraire. “We need to look at ways to band together.”

And two days after the Cheese Steak restaurant shooting, people did, gathering for a candlelight vigil to mourn the death of Degene Barecha, one of the victims and the second owner of the Cheese Steak Restaurant to be shot and killed.

The Seattle Police Department has increased its presence and police cars have swarmed the area in the past couple of weeks.

Not all residents are comfortable with them being there, and Cardenas feels the extra police presence is more of a hindrance than a help. “There are a lot of police around, messing with people, interrogating people.”

She said a friend was given a seventy dollar ticket for spitting on the sidewalk outside his house – public property – and that an officer attempted to give Cardenas a ticket for jaywalking.

Incidents like these, and the rising cost of living as people clamor to live nearer to downtown in neighborhoods like the Central District, have sparked resentment in longtime residents.

For example, some residents feel even new affordable housing areas like New Holly in Rainier Vista, a redeveloped housing authority community near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Henderson, are beyond the reach of some residents.

Families who were stranded when their houses where torn down to make room for New Holly had to move further south or further north. “I think they’re trying to drive us out,” said Cardenas.

However, even as the community becomes more divided they are looking at ways to end the violence. “We need to look at gun control and programs and safety,” said Maraire. “It’s a police issue, it’s a community issue, it’s a wrap around situation. There’s a lot to be done and there’s a lot of great community organizers working on it.”

Despite – or because of – the recent turmoil the Central District welcomes Garfield this fall. When asked about how the building was coming along Maraire said, “Ooh! It looks great! You should see it.”