SPRINGFIELD — Just this week, Springfield police are investigating four cases of gun violence.
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, our crews spent time asking Springfield city leaders what they’re doing to cut down on these crimes.
News Center 7′s John Bedell asked Springfield Mayor Rob Rue what he wants the city to know about gun violence.
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“The city is paying attention to gun violence. The city cares about this,” Rue said.
Springfield police reports detail four instances of gun violence in the city between Sunday and Tuesday.
On Thursday, Springfield police were dispatched to a strip mall and restaurant on the 1600 block of N Bechtle Avenue for reports of gunfire.
A 911 caller said his friend’s car was stolen and they found it in the Five Below parking lot at 1680 N Bechtle Avenue.
The caller said they blocked it in, but someone allegedly shot at them.
“We got the car…I’m going back to my house, I’m scared to death, they just shot at us in the…parking lot of Five Below,” the caller said.
News Center 7′s John Bedell spoke to police about the violent incident on Tuesday, but Friday was the first time our crews got the chance to talk to city leaders about the violence and what they’re doing about it.
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“For violent offenders, we are looking and we’re going after those folks. We’re not ignoring this. And this is very important to the city. It’s very important that we have a safe environment here,” Rue said.
Springfield’s Deputy Director of Public Safety, and former police officer Jason Via said the city is working hard to make a change.
“Just like the community, we’re very concerned with this trend. We have been working for months behind the scenes with community partners on this particular problem,” Via said.
“We’ve been working with, the OIC, the Springfield Foundation, Clark County Juvenile Court, the Mental Health and Recovery Board, the (Clark County Combined) Health District, and the (Springfield) NAACP. We formed a partnership I would say last summer to start to address this issue,” Via said.
He said various community partners have received grant money to help combat gun violence.
“...a $1.3 million grant from the Department of Justice to fund a community violence intervention coordinator position,” Via said.
Even though Via couldn’t share who was selected for the position, he said someone was recently hired and they hope to have them start “within the next two weeks.”
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“So that person will be, tasked to communicate, both with the community and to communicate with another partner, Case Western University, to help us find programming that is both evidence-based and best practices to bring here to address this issue,” Via said.
In August, News Center 7′s John Bedell reported that the state is partnering with Springfield on a violent crime reduction initiative.
Over the summer, Ohio State Highway Patrol Troopers provided extra resources like technology, intel, and staffing for a targeted operation.
The City of Springfield asked for this help.
On Friday, an OSHP spokesperson said, “We currently do not have any pending requests for assistance. However, we are always willing to assist our local law enforcement partners upon request.”
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