Frightening urban no-go hell zones you've lived in

This year there are police in stab-proof jackets patrolling the route between my university and the Halls. On the local news last night they explained how they've opened up 4 safe corridors for moving between the different campuses, and they're meant to have a Police helichopter monitoring the situation from the air, though I haven't seen that yet. It's like Kosovo or something.

another case against bloody Manchester, then.

I moved just out of college into DC's Petworth neighborhood just off Georgia Ave.. before the metro station opened.. One month after the move I went to drive to work and found that overnight, some junkie took a power drill to my car door & didn't succeed in stealing either the stereo or the car, but did cut him/herself in the process and bleed all over the place. Got mugged at gunpoint once at 9:30am, and the cop taking the report asked if we knew about the crackhouse across the street..
Last night before moving out heard a shooting nearby, some poor Columbia Heights woman getting her laundry was killed in the crossfire.