Summer heat: A June spike in South Bend gun violence

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- Crime was trending downward in South Bend until the summer hit. As temperatures spiked last month, so did incidents of gun violence.

"We know that we had a violent June here in South Bend," said Mayor James Mueller.

Sixteen of the 35 people shot so far this year were shot in June.

"Not sure why, the reason, we're obviously looking at every angle possible to find out why this is occurring," said South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski. "I will tell you, we're not alone in this, if you look nationally, that trend, for whatever reason, seems to be a little high increase in the summer months, and then right around the June time."

This includes the June 14th shooting that killed 16-year-old Alyyus Enoexpettiford, with still no arrests.

"I'm confident within the next week or so, a couple of these cases that have been on your minds as well as ours will be having some significant updates on," Ruszkowski said.

June had deadly police shooting on the 11th, ruled justified by the St. Joseph County prosecutor.

June also saw the active shooter situation erupt at Frank's Place, less than a day after shots rang out in the parking lot, exposing neighbors' dismay at what they call rowdy crowds outside the bar each week.

"I know a lot of people want to point the finger at those specific locations, but I'm unaware of anyone who's been uncooperative with us," Ruszkowski said.

He said patrols and tactical measures are increased in the city where crowds often form.

"Look, people can gather, it's not illegal for people to gather," he said. "But when you block streets, when you block sidewalks, that's a whole different story. When fights break out, when shots ring out, then it becomes a significant concern."

The numbers show gun violence incidents overall are down from last year, and there were more shooting injuries but fewer deaths.

But the heat continues into July, with one injured in Wednesday's shooting on Huey Street.

"We are still looking at it through our ballistics experts," Ruszkowski said.

At Thursday's quarterly public safety update, South Bend Police also shared the following:
57 percent of shootings are group or gang member involved.
The South Bend police confiscated 388 illicit guns.
There was an average of 32.5 traffic stops per day.
There were 775 mental health calls for service so far this year.
The South Bend Police's Transparency Hub holds this data and more and was just redesigned to be more user-friendly.