CLEVELAND — Cleveland police are investigating three more deadly shootings overnight in what has already been an especially violent year so far on city streets.
According to police, homicides are up 24% so far this year compared to the same period a year ago.
Police said robberies are up 12% and felonious assaults involving weapons have jumped 40% compared the first seven months of 2019.
In one of the latest cases, police said a man was shot in the head and died at the HP Gas Station at East 139th and Kinsman just after midnight.
Friends identified the victim as Everett Dalton, a father of four who friends said recently started his own construction company.
"These streets got to him, these Cleveland streets," said Dionne Stirtmire, the mother of Dalton's 12-year-old daughter.
Friday afternoon, a memorial in remembrance of Dalton sat across the parking lot of the gas station from where strips of yellow crime scene tape were left behind.
"I used to pray for him while he’s out here in these streets and my children, and now I just pray God will be there to help me and my children through it," said Stirtmire.
Nearby, Antonio McMullen, with the grassroots organization Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance, watched. He called the jump in violence heartbreaking.
"It’s any time of the day and it could happen, anybody could get hurt," said McMullen.
His group works to stop the violence on the same city streets he grew up walking. Lately, it's been a nearly around-the-clock job.
"How many hours in the day, 24?" said McMullen. "I think I'm doing 27."
He said in his 20 years of working to clean up neighborhoods, he's never seen a year like 2020.
"The public is unsafe right now, and we're trying to find out what's going on," said McMullen.
But those answers haven't been easily found.
"Our biggest concern is we don’t know where it’s coming from," he said.
During a teleconference with reporters Thursday, Chief of Police Calvin Williams said he's hopeful a new joint program bringing federal, state and local investigators together will make a difference.
"They’re having tremendous success out there in combating violent crime so we expect these numbers as far as robberies and shooting and homicides start to go down here of the next couple of weeks and next several months," said Williams.
Mayor Frank Jackson issued the following statement Friday evening regarding the three deadly overnight shootings:
In less than 24 hours, between August 13 and August 14, 2020, Cleveland Police officers responded to nine shootings resulting in a total of three homicides. Violence, violent activity overall and the homicide rate is up significantly. This has to stop!
Law enforcement need the public’s assistance to solve open cases and take vicious offenders off of our streets.
The Cleveland Division of Police continues to work with our local, state and federal partners in order to combat violent crime and reduce criminal activity within our city. Progress is being made in terms of these partnerships and within the last few weeks almost 100 guns have been taken off of our streets. In addition, investigators have initiated approximately a dozen federal and state investigations into violent crime enterprises and individuals that are conducting violent crime within the city.
But for victims like Dalton, it's too late.
Stirtmire said she's not sure what led to her friend's killing, but believes Cleveland has to change.
"I have two boys, 23 years old and 16 years old," she said. "I fear for their lives, you know? I have a friend who packed up and moved to Florida six years ago because of this and I’m thinking the same thing for myself right now, for my kids."
In the meantime, McMullen said he'll keep hitting the streets, and showing up at crime scenes, hopeful other organizations will join his and stop the rise in violence.
"Let's beat the pavement all together, said McMullen. "I believe that way, something will subside."
