Neighbors react to violent weekend on South Bend's West side

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- More than 100 rounds of gunfire rang out Saturday night on South Bend's West side, just 24 hours after another shooting occurred in the same area.

Between the two shootings, five people were injured, with no suspects under arrest at this time.

Saturday's shooting took place around 10:30 p.m. near the ending stages of a Mexican Independence Day celebration. 

Police say the shooting took place in a wide range of areas from West Western Avenue through Philippa and Huron Streets down to Pulaski Park and Ford Street. 

"We've had multiple houses shot up, multiple vehicles shot up, in essence; bullets flying through houses and neighborhoods." said South Bend Chief of Police, Scott Ruszkowski.

Former South Bend resident Jim Johnson says he's noticed an uptick in crime over the past several years, even claiming he had a gun pulled on him at a nearby grocery store just last year. 

"I hate to say it but the crime rate through here is terrible, and it shouldn't be. I was raised in this neighborhood; now, I wouldn't move back to the city if they paid me live in the city." said Johnson.

Despite the long weekend of violence, West side resident Mary Wrobel believes that the neighborhood is safe overall and that action as simple as the creation of community meetings could go a long way toward curbing the violence.

"If we have more community action to help the police - because I know the police can't do it all by themselves - maybe if everybody knew everybody we could help solve this problem with the crime."

Anyone with information on Friday or Saturday night's shootings are encouraged to reach out to Michiana Crime Stoppers at (574) 288-STOP or their Victory Over Violence Program, which rewards up to $1,000 for tips leading to the solving of gun-related crimes.