STOCKTON, Calif. — Five people were shot and killed and two others were injured in three separate shootings across Stockton over the weekend.
In the wake of this violence, the Stockton Police Department's Neighborhood Impact Team went door-to-door on Tuesday in all three of those neighborhoods, to connect with people who live in these areas and to let them know they are not alone.
"We're just shocked that it happened, you know, especially when we found out that it was one of our neighbors, we couldn't believe it," Jose Casillas, a neighbor living near Finland Avenue where three teens were killed last Friday said.
Neighbors like Casillas are still on edge.
"The worst of all [is] they haven't even caught no one [sic]. They don't know anything," he said.
That's why the Stockton Police Department's Neighborhood Impact Team, made up of police chaplains, community service officers, clergy and other officers, went back to all three neighborhoods that experienced trauma.
"We're out here to make sure that people are OK, that they're not feeling scared and if there's [sic] concerns, we can help address some of those concerns," Jesse Kenyon, the Senior Chaplain for the Stockton Police Department said.
The team went door-to-door handing out information on Crime Stoppers, how to form your own neighborhood watch group and, most importantly, they were there to listen.
"We don't want the community here, the residents here that were affected by this trauma that occurred in their neighborhood, to think that the police department forgot about them," Officer Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department said.
"Sometimes when we get in these situations, we feel like we're the only ones experiencing it or the only ones who care about it. But whenever we're able to come out in the neighborhood again and spend some time with people, they see that there's more than one person concerned about what's going on...[and] they recognize that they're not alone," Kenyon said.
Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs also came to help.
"I made sure [to come out], today particularly, because it was five homicides. And, one homicide is one too many, but five is five too many," Tubbs said.
Tubbs says, while the city's homicide numbers dropped last year, this is a prime example that their work isn't finished yet.
"This is a top priority, not just for me but for the entire city. And we all think that we deserve to live in a safe city and we'll do everything that we can to make sure that that happens," he said.
Police hope having the impact team visit will create a new sense of security and unity in these neighborhoods.
"At the end, we want to shake their hands and let them know that the police department cares and we're not going away," Silva said.
If you have any information about any of the homicides over the weekend you are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 209-946-0600.
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