What is the matter with all of you???!!! A 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL HAS BEEN SHOT!! A vital, young life in danger, hurting and in pain, for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Can you imagine the horror her parents felt when they received the phone call telling them to get to the hospital because their daughter had been shot and was in surgery? Think about this girl and her family and what they're going through. All of you arguing about which city is better or worse or whether we should allow guns or whether or not people are stupid for bringing children into the world and who has more police etc. isn't helping anything. You all should stop wasting your time bickering on here and start praying for this girl and her family. Do something constructive and positive...pray...and if you don't believe in prayer, then go to the hospital and donate blood to help the next victim of violence.

I agree...this is one area in Beloit that I would not want to spend a lot of time in. But I know there are several areas in Janesville that I would stay away from too. I think the point some posters want to make is that it seems that there are some on here that want to constantly bash Beloit...but do they realize some of the problems that Beloit has...Janesville has as well? Since living in this area, it seems to me that Beloit trys to tackle their problems, while Janesville has been known to hide theirs. Open your eyes people...both cities have similar problems.

Oh my goodness. The feelings of another citizen, True, often have no bearing on the safety of the neighborhood. Poverty may be a risk factor but it is neither a necessary ingredient nor a symptom - It just is. I lived just two blocks from a shooting three years ago, as close to middle-class America as Beloit gets. It isn't the 'hood that is the problem, it's Beloit. As far as signals go, the dealers are so cocky now that they need none to believe someone might want something. I remember sitting in my car looking over some papers and having someone ask me what I wanted to buy, and yeah, that was well outside the 'hood as well.

I've known several other people that have lived near this area in Beloit and they have all said the same things over the years about driving through and the signal that you want to buy drugs is by stopping at stop signs with windows down. My son and I live in Janesville near Village Green East. His father and stepfamily live in Beloit. There is an apartment complex just east of us on Laramie and Canyon that I would not walk past at night. There are drug deals going on there all the time, so it isn't just Beloit. However, unlike the area in Beloit, gunfire does not ring out on an almost nightly basis. Does that make me feel any safer? Not really. I was in Beloit the night the Rodney King verdict was announced. The house that I was at was a good mile from the 'hood and we listened to constant gunfire for 5 hours. My husband and I were afraid to leave and just stayed there all night. The next morning, half of Beloit was completely trashed. I'm not sure how the windows at the neighborhood stop n go were responsible for the cops getting away with beating that man but every one of them was shot or broken out. That'll teach that store!

paisley...there is a difference, though I admitt it is evolving more like Beloit. JPD has less officers on the street, and is larger than Beloit. JPD officers have a few less calls to go to also. Numbers don't lie. I have been a Rock Co. resident for almost 40 years. That town has a problem, and you know it! Janesville isn't much better these days, I know. I would like to see both communities and their people change for the better. Many of these mopes will never do so. So what should be done? Watch it get worse I guess, and more little kids with opportunities get raised poorly and continue the vicious cycle!?

Mentor397...Wouldn't the car behind her still be at fault? Yea they would. Also, you may not feel uneasy, but I'm sure this other post-writer isn't lying about her feelings in that city.

Yeah, I think the few of you that think you need to bash Beloit need to get a life. Janesville has crappy neighborhoods that I wouldn't walk through at 1 am either. RR1Box14, thanks for posting that for JAYT.

Dear 'spikesmom'...isn't that sad. Beloit isn't even that big of a city. Look at all the chaos it has caused. People on these posts get soooooooooooo angry when Beloit is bashed. Well I say, An apple is an APPLE, and an orange is an ORANGE, until things change.
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We live in a society now where you can't speak the truth without it being labled falsly, or being put down/ suppressed. Now watch people read this, make their own tangent conclusions, and then disagree. So thank you for your comment, and I'm sorry you carry this concern for your child and that environment.

Um, just because YOU haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The police have no control over there and the residents know it. I don't know why anyone would want to live that way and to bring children into a life like that, but whatever. What do I know? I'm sure that the drug running and gun handling experience these kids are getting will look good on a resume someday.

Here's the latest from WMTV out of Madison

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A | A | A UPDATED Saturday, July 18, 2009 --- 9:04 p.m.

Beloit Police Capt. William Tyler tells NBC15 the victim remains in critical condition tonight. The attack did not appear to police to be random, but the shooter should be considered armed and dangerous while at-large

i hope this girl gets better soon<3

Um, the only real danger from coming to a stop at a stop sign in that area (or anywhere in Beloit really) is that the person behind you wasn't planning to stop either and will hit the back of your car. I'm not saying it's the most pleasant area in the world, but I've never had any trouble when I've been there.

JT read this
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http://www.gazettextra.com/news/2009/jul...

My son's stepbrother lives one block from that shooting. His stepbrother lives there with his dad (the dad is the manager of the all white heavy metal band that his son is in. Surprisingly enough, the neighbors don't mind having white neighbors playing heavy metal. That's funny to me!!) I've had to go there a couple of times to pick him up. I am not at all happy about having my 14 year old hanging out in that neighborhood. The first time I went there to pick him up he told me to never come to a complete stop at any of the stop signs, unless another car is coming and NEVER come to a complete stop with my window rolled down. That is apparently code for wanting to buy drugs. He said there are 10 year old kids on bikes used as drug runners. I've seen my share of bad neighborhoods in big cities but this one scares the crap out of me.

I ride my bike through here all the time, during morning on the way to work, during the day when just riding, or evenings, on the way home. It's my short-cut from the Morgan Square shopping area to the Beloit Mall and Henry Ave Bridge area without messing with traffic and highways.

That is not a good place to be at anytime of the day.
I had a friend get lost and end up on switch track alley and she got mugged at 1 pm.

My thoughts and prayers are with this young girl and her family. The people on this blog tend to forget that these are people regardless of who they are and where they are from you are no better than they.. You see the same names over and over again posting these negative comments....Have compassion please!

cutebutclueless....You have probably never even been to the neighborhood. Save your judgements.

15yearsthere: As you said we don't know of the specifics yet, "What if the girl was a drug dealer,a serial killer or another Cheyenne Cherry " We don't know that either.She could just be an innocent girl who shouldn't of been out that late. My thoughts are still with her regardless if you think they should be or not.

snazzyj1977-We already have "gun control", what you seem to want is a gun ban.A gun ban MIGHT POSSIBLY have kept this girl from getting shot.But it in no way would have stopped her from getting hurt if whoever shot her wanted her hurt.As for all the thoughts and prayers, we have no idea as yet of the specifics of this story.What if the girl was a drug dealer, a serial killer, or another Cheyenne Cherry (google her)?

Snazzyj1977, Brush up on your history.

snazzyj: Get your head out of the sand, if the bad guy wants an illegal gun he'll find one. I like to collect WW II era guns and just because some moron shoots someone I don't want my rights taken away and i'm not a republican and i'm not evil. I hope this girl comes out of this just fine, my thoughts are with her.

Sad indeed.
I hope that she is able to recover from her injuries.

I would personally withhold judgement until I knew more about the facts of this case. That doesn't seem to stop the rest of you.

A shooting in Beloit, that is news. How about telling us when someone does not get shot in Beloit.

What is a 17 year old doing out at 125am at Switch Track and Porter... C'mon! Sad situation but she shouldn't have been there in the first place!

It's time for society to start holding parents accountable for their children. There is no reason for a minor to be out of the house at 1:25 in the morning.