At 1:30 am this morning, a stray bullet went through a woman’s window in Mercer, Seattle while she was asleep. According to reports, this bullet was fired from the nearby homeless camp. Thankfully, the woman was unharmed but it goes without saying that this would shake up even the most stoic of residents.

Unfortunately, this camp has quickly gained notoriety in the short space that it has appeared. Since its inception, locals have been blighted with fires, theft, assault, and even homicide. With this in mind, sadly this story isn’t really shocking when looking at the wider context of the area.

As a result, Seattle locals are growing more tired of these encampments, with many of them blaming local politicians for dumping crime on their doorsteps. Writing online, one Seattle wrote this in regards to the recent shooting: “It’s starting to feel a bit like we are moving from a two-tiered justice system to three tiers; with the middle class being the only population actually held accountable to anything. Empathy is great and all, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of public safety. If we don’t change how we solve this it’s only going to get worse.”

Having said this, it doesn’t look like change will be coming to Mercer anytime soon – and the hardworking families that have to live next to the crime will sadly have to live while looking over their shoulders for the foreseeable future.