A drive-by shooting is characterized by a number of elements. Ironically screaming is not often one of them. That comes later. Usually people are too much in shock and surprise and alarm to actually do any shouting until after it's already happened.

People will be walking by on the side of a street, minding their own business, and this car drives by. Inside the car are anywhere from one to six cowardly idiots who have nothing better to do with their lives than to test their ammunition on complete strangers. Sometimes this assault is premeditated, and the people driving by think they know at least one of those individuals they are about to gun down. If they actually had a shred of decency or humanity left, they'd get out of the car, face the individual up front, fight him good and clean and get their asses kicked. But no. They're little chicken shits. So they drive by and mow down a handful of people with firearms that they probably haven't even registered.

And here's a good point. Gun Control only stops law abiding citizens from carrying guns. This is not an opinion. It is a fact. People who break the law in other ways are not going to go "gee, maybe I should register my gun." Drive-by shootings usually happen in high crime districts, hence the name high crime district. If you find yourself the victim of a drive by shooting, chances are you will need to know that there are a few things to consider if you think someone might be dead.

This song was written and preformed by Henry Rollins after Black Flag broke up and before Rollins Band was formed. It IS a parody, so don't get all huffy...

Even though they're in the middle of a whirlwind tour of Leeds, England, we managed to catch up with Henrietta and the band and drag them into the studio for a sessions. PCP1 is proud to introduce Henrietta Collins and the Wifebeating Childhaters.

Hello Henrietta
Hi Paul, hi gang, hit it fellas (music begins resembling the instrumental song Wipeout). We'll leave nothing to your imaginations this time. We tried this last time and in our opinion, uh, it didn't work. We're gonna do a little number for you now. It's called Drive By Shooting. It's pretty wild. I hope you like it.

we're gonna get in our car
we're gonna go go go
we're gonna drive to a neighborhood
kill someone we don't know
drive by shooting

we're gonna go out killing
that's what we're gonna do
it might be your sister
or it might be you
drive by shooting

sipping on the night train (first gear)
cruising down the interstate (second gear)
smoking on the angel dust (third gear)
I think my head's about to bust (fourth gear)
drive by shooting
watch out for that pig

we're gonna get in our car
we're gonna go go go
we're gonna drive to a neighborhood
kill someone we don't know
drive by shooting

this is the way we get our thrills
we get in our car
and kill kill kill
drive by shooting

got myself a heavy date (first gear)
don't you know I can't be late (second gear)
got myself a Smith & Wesson (third gear)
I'm gonna teach some folks a lesson (fourth gear)
drive by shooting
drive by

A drive-by shooting is a somewhat self-explanatory type of attack fundamental to many urban gang wars. A vehicle will approach a target alongside the road and slowly drive by while the armed occupants fire upon the target through the window. This done, the driver will accelerate and the vehicle will quickly depart the scene. A well-executed drive-by shooting allows the attackers to strike at the unsuspecting and undefended target from within partial cover and then escape before any enemies can regroup or retaliate. In terms of body count, the effectiveness of drive-by shooting is questionable, though even if the target is not hit, a drive-by is very intimidating, can confuse or scare an enemy, and will likely interrupt any activity they were involved in at the time.

The vehicles used in performing drive-by shootings vary widely, and are not a major strategic concern. Given the importance of maintaining the element of surprise, it is best not to use a vehicle that an enemy may recognize. Beyond that, as shooters may take some return fire, both cheap, expendable vehicles and large, solid, and ideally, armored vehicles might be desirable. Guns used are usually pistols or light submachine guns such as the MAC-10 and Uzi, although occasionally, heavier weapons such as the AK-47 will be employed.

Between the questionable accuracy of many of these weapons, the difficulty of firing from a moving vehicle, the imperfect firing stance the situation necessitates, and the general lack of firearms training among the practitioners of this tactic, drive-by shootings are notoriously inaccurate, and often injure or kill uninvolved bystanders (assuming there was an actual "involved" target to begin with). The former problem can be compensated for to some degree by packing the vehicle with as many gunmen as possible and making up for inaccuracy with sheer volume of lead. This tends to aggravate the latter, but then again, you can't make an omelet without killing a few people.

Drive-by shootings are first and foremost a matter of strike-and-retreat. They're not skirmishes, they're not firefights, they're (if there is such a thing), mobile ambushes. If you're looking for a military parallel, Roninspoon has suggested you picture a helicopter raid. Replace Wagner with Ice-T as necessary. If you need to reload before you drive off, you're probably doing it wrong. While a drive-by shooting may cause confusion and take down some enemies, it will also alert others in the area, who will then be prepared and who may summon reinforcements or the police.

As the weapons used in a drive-by shooting tend to be lacking in range and penetration, targets must be alongside the street or in buildings closely abuting the street, which limits the tactic's employment to urban settings. Success also assumes that the target is not armored or being actively guarded and that enemies do not have the capability to quickly pursue or disable a vehicle, rendering the tactic's effectiveness rather questionable in serious military conflicts or insurrections and relegating it to the small-scale gang disputes or territorial conflicts in which it first rose to prominence.

A few years ago I witnessed a drive by shooting. I was doing a rehab at an old public housing project and just happened to be behind one unit pulling wire.

Poppoppoppoppop!

Five little pops down the street. I popped out and watched a black Nissan Sentra accelerating hard away from a house down the street. Right at me. There were three teenagers in the car, purse-lipped and stonefaced. I think they were scared shitless. The driver braked hard, turned gracelessly and sped away.

The street remained totally quiet.

Now I keep a pencil in my tool pouch, and had a book of wire markers nearby. Out came my implements, down went their license plate number. I slipped the pad back in my pouch.

About a minute later a beat up silver toyota accelerated away from the house where the shooting had taken place. Presumably, this guy was carrying the drugs and money, so the cops wouldn't find any. Out came my pencil, down went another number.

After the second car cleared the scene, suddenly people came out from everywhere. It seemed like there was an unwritten rule that everybody stayed inside until the victim's buddy had cleared the scene. That hurdle past, out came the folk. It was a block party--- no a gawk party----- as everyone came out to see. I could see people talking to each other, gossiping as if they were at the center of a story.

About ten minutes after the shooting the police arrived. And the ambulance. It seemed like forever, but really they arrived pretty quickly according to my watch. They came in numbers and quickly fanned out on both sides of the street, working the neighbors who all, sadly, had been indoors and thus hadn't seen a thing.

I waved one of the cops over when they got close enough. "Want a licence number?"

The cop was a tall, african-american man with very dark, ebony skin and long, graceful features. He flashed me a toothy grin. "Well, we already know who did it. See, they only wounded the guy so he told us."

Five shots and all they did was wing him. Not that I'm complaining. Attempted murder beats successful murder hands down. But he took my numbers and grinned again when I mentioned the Toyota, turning aside to whisper the number into his radio. And then he turned and walked off.

Fifteen minutes later the ambulance and police were gone, and everyone back indoors, is if nothing had ever happened. I went back to pulling wire. I had a story to tell over lunch. The news never mentioned it. A drive-by must not be enough to make the news in Columbus, Ohio.

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