WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — After a recent escalation of gun violence in the City of Winston-Salem, Police Chief Catrina Thomspon is pleading with the community to step up and help end it.
"We can't do it alone. It is not a police problem, it's a community problem and it's going to take this whole community and communities across the country doing their part to address it," said Chief Thompson.
Thompson plea is coming on the heels of five shootings in four days that killed 3 people including an attack on a police substation on Monday. The suspect in that incident, 26-year-old William Scott killed his mother 62-year-old Kimberly Kyle Scott and his grandmother 84-year-old Glenda Snow Corriher before shooting at officers at the substation and leading them on a chase into Hanes Park. Investigators say he continued to fire shots but was subdued and taken into custody.
"If they came to the police department and shot up the police substation, if they are shooting at officers, you know what they would continue to do in our community. We've got to work together Winston-Salem to solve violent crime in our community. If there is something else that you know that we can do, tell us what it is, we want it to end, I live in Winston-Salem," Thompson said.
Thompson spoke at a press conference Wednesday to lay out the department's ongoing and incoming plans and strategies to address violent crime.
Leaders at the department said they are prioritizing tackling gun violence. In the coming weeks, the department plans to expand its Real-Time Crime Center and partner with both businesses and private citizens in programs to grant access to surveillance systems and or camera footage. They also plan to implement a Shot Spotter System to detect gunfire before it is called in. This would complement its already existing programs like the Violent Fire Arms Investigation Teams and the Gun Crime Reduction Unit to which they are adding additional staffing despite a shortage of officers.
WSPD has also partnered with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office on a Street Saturation Patrol and is working with the ATF through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network to help identify weapons and crime patterns. The City Council also plans to discuss bringing back a gun buyback program to help get more weapons off the street and out of the hands-on criminals.
Data presented by the police department showed that despite these mitigation efforts, gun violence was on a steady increase and was poised to surpass previous numbers going by the current rate. So far in the first half of 2021, there have been 19 shooting fatalities in Winston-Salem. Compare this to 23 victims for the entire year of 2020.
Officers said part of the problem is that people are also resorting to firepower when dealing with conflicts instead of resolving them amicably and with civility.
"Stay away from all conflicts because you don't know who is carrying a weapon or what their state of mind is if they are having mental illness issues or are impaired. Walk away because gun violence has become prevalent," said Assistant Chief Wilson Weaver.
Chief Thompson said criminals have been getting bolder because people in the community aren't speaking up. She said people staying silent about criminal activity ultimately amounts to harboring and tacitly supporting criminals in the community and she's frustrated about it.
"When neighborhoods let people know that you can't come to my community, my neighborhood and commit a crime and think we are going to harbor you. When that attitude starts to take place when people start to talk," said Thompson.
"We had a homicide that just occurred with over 100 people out there and maybe two people ultimately ended up coming down and talking to us. Some of this was on Facebook, a lot of it is on social media. This is what the police department is doing and we will continue to look for ways to reduce crime but we can't do it alone," she said.
"We're telling you what our part is now, I want to know what investments are other people willing to make to stop this crime," Thompson said.
The police department also cautioned about excessive speeding in several residential streets across the city and warned they would be increasing their presence to enforce traffic laws.