Elkhart Police Chief and Mayor hold press conference following shooting of 14-year-old, recent shootings
ELKHART, Ind. — Elkhart Police Chief Dan Milanese and Mayor Rod Roberson held an hour-long press conference Wednesday afternoon to address concerns surrounding recent acts of violence in the city.
The presser began at 2 p.m. with the public and media in attendance. When asked for new details about the Monday afternoon shooting of a 14-year-old, no new details were shared.
The Elkhart Police Department reports a call came in around 4:01 p.m., Monday, for a shooting with injuries at the intersection of West Jefferson and North 6th Street.
Authorities were told a teen male was walking when a vehicle stopped and a suspect or suspects got out.
Police say that's when an interaction occurred between the teen and the suspect(s), at which point he was shot.
According to police, the teen victim was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
We asked if any of the recent shootings were related, specifically the drive by shooting near the Martin's on Jackson Boulevard and the 14-year-old at the intersection of W. Jefferson St and N. 6th Street.
"As far as a connectivity, I can’t speak to that. Obviously, they’re different incidents in different places, at different times," said Milanese. He continued, "if there is some connectivity, our investigators are working on that right now. However, they are two different instances and happened at two different dates and times so right now we’re looking at them obviously independently. If we find any connectivity, that will come out in the investigation."
ABC 57 asked Chief Milanese if the department is receiving community cooperation and if they're reviewing security video from nearby homes and even school bus footage.
"We’re looking at everything," said Milanese.
"We have been in contact with community. We have been working in partnership with them as we want to do in every single case we take but yes, we have partnered with the community, and we’ll continue to do so. We're thankful to have that relationship.”
When asked if there are any details that could be shared about the car and suspect(s) involved, Milanese said "I'm leaving the sharing of the details up to the investigator that's working the case." No details were shared about the car and suspects(s) involved.
When ABC 57 spoke with people this week that live near the intersection of W. Jefferson St and N. 6th Street, they shared gun violence is starting to happen too often in their community and they're tired of it. At the press conference, Mayor Rod Roberson said otherwise, though he acknowledged Elkhart is an "urban" area.
"These three events are unusual. It doesn’t happen with this kind of voracity in such a condensed period of time, like three days. I in the last six years haven’t been in this type of situation," Roberson explained.
The three events he is referring to is the shooting of the 14-year-old shortly after the victim got off the bus, the officer involved shooting where a 17-year-old boy, Bryan Ramirez Gomez, was killed and a stabbing that happened shortly before the shooting of the 14-year-old.
Both Mayor Rod Roberson and Elkhart Police Chief Dan Milanese took a moment to acknowledge how much people are hurting after these recent situations.
"The families have been affected. The neighbors, the church members, the teachers, the friends of all of the victims, are those that we are absolutely making sure that we have in our prayers of comfort and empathy towards what they're going through. Their classmates as well since these were kids that were in school, said Roberson.
They also took a moment to express their gratitude towards local law enforcement and first responders, mentioning they too are members of the community and are also greatly impacted by these crimes.
Chief Milanese and Mayor Roberson urge the Elkhart community to call the Elkhart Police Department's tipline if they know anything about any of the recent acts of violence.
You can call 574-389-4777.