Gary mayor, police chief address spate of violence in city, including four homicides in 24 hours

Gary Mayor Jerome Prince and Police Chief Brian Evans Tuesday addressed a violent approximate 24-hours in the city Oct. 2 to Oct. 3 that saw four people shot to death, including two juveniles.

“I want to say this is not Gary. This is certainly not who we are,” Prince said.

None of the crimes were drug or gang related, he said, nor from the city’s perspective were they random acts of violence.

“This is important to note because we live here as residents of the city. We will do everything in our efforts to ensure the safety of the city, understanding safety is a matter of perspective,” Prince said.

These instances were in many ways somewhat isolated despite the fact they occurred in a short time frame, he said.

Evans provided a synopsis of the events that transpired. Police first responded Oct. 2 to Methodist Hospital Northlake where a female was dropped off in a vehicle by a known party. That individual left the hospital after dropping the woman off. She received treatment but died from a gunshot wound to the body at 7:30 p.m.

That same day, police responded to the 2600 block of Jackson Street for two victims who were both shot. The female victim was dead at the scene, a second victim was still alive and transported to a Chicago hospital. There is no update at this time on the male victim’s condition, Evans said.

Then on Oct. 3 at about 11 p.m. police were called to the 2900 block of W. 11th Avenue were two deceased juveniles were found.

“We believe they were killed together at the same time. Police have very good leads in this case,” Evans said.

He assured the public the Gary Police Department, Metro Homicide division and federal and local departments are working hard to provide closure to these cases.

“We want to assure the public these incidents are not gang related and not drug related. They are not random. We believe all these individuals were targeted by a specific person. It just so happened over a short period of time,” Evans said. Police do not believe the different instances were connected to one another in any way.

The city will use everything within its power, utilizing the resources it has and the expertise of the Gary Police Department and its partners to address these matters and make sure they are solved to create a safe environment.

“I want to reiterate that although these are certainly unfortunate incidents, they certainly are a reminder why public safety is a top priority,” Prince said

Public safety remains a top priority for the administration and the city is currently working on several initiatives to help. Prince touted the THRIVE program, a citywide youth outreach program aimed at addressing youth violence.

“We want to assure everyone Gary is a great city. It is going to continue to be a great city,” Prince said.

cnapoleon@chicagotribune.com