Split Second Saturday

The Second Saturday event in downtown Sacramento tends to draw late night, artsy partiers, becoming more rowdy as the alcohol consumption surges. This Saturday, the event ended with three men wounded and one killed in a shooting right outside the Streets of London bar.

Second Saturday began years ago as a respectable art community event, complete with beach cruiser bicycles and serious art and design fans. This was located at another location then moved to Midtown for safety reasons. Ironic.

Within the last three years the popularity has grown, along with complaints about nightclubs and drunken brawls. This makes it more of a destination for 21-year-olds with no homework and a point of contention for quiet, art-seeking attendees.

Saturday night was well attended by two sets of people: attendees and police. The force was out in extra strength on Saturday in an attempt to keep the event friendly and contained.

The fact still remains, one 20-year old Latino is dead and three more are wounded. Where were the police then?

Reports say that the police were not only in the same area when the shooting occurred but they also heard the gun fire. As of today, no suspects and no motives have been brought to the table.

Police and witnesses say that it is the loiterers that gather in front of the closed shops that are the problem. The shooting was a good two hours after Second Saturday officially closed but the police were still out in force.

I suppose their operating theory was that as long as there are huge drunken crowds there might be potential for problems. I don’t suppose anyone of them expected a problem this big.

Some are blaming the police. Some are blaming Second Saturday. Some are blaming alcohol. Some are blaming night-clubs. Some are blaming young people. Assessed separately, none of those issues are avoidable. Perhaps the problem is the combination.

But the truth is, late nights in the city are never as safe as your Grandma’s kitchen. Is this really an issue that can be fixed?

Taking away Second Saturday would not only subtract business from local vendors, it would also take away the art community’s desire to express itself through local venues.

Taking away alcohol from Second Saturday would make it much less popular, less fun and less of a money maker for vendors and street entertainers.

With or without alcohol, isn’t a killer still a killer?

Either way, I don't think I will wander the streets late at night, whether there is an art event going on or not.

Luckily the police arrived in time to save the three wounded victims who were trying to crawl to safety. The police still don't know if the shooting was a random gun-happy fiend or the result of a drunken brawl.

While police are searching for these answers, so are the business associates. What are they going to do now? They can’t change what happened early Sunday morning, but they can change the future. It has already changed from an art event to a party to a murder headline to a political point.

Maybe we should separate the events, give art walks to the artists and a club or bar to the partiers. That might make everyone happy. Go back to the days of the quiet tourists who want to browse through a local art shop and leave the drinking fest for the bars.

It draws two crowds anyway: the artsy, fartsy and the carouser. Let's get back to serious art and serious drinking.