CLEVELAND — A wave of violence in less than 24 hours in Cleveland on Sunday.
“What we’re seeing now is from one end of the city to the other, from north to south, from east to west, we’re seeing street violence we’ve never experienced before,” said Mike Polensek, Chair of the Cleveland City Council Public Safety Committee.
Early Sunday morning, nine people were shot on West 6th Street in the Warehouse District.
Three people were shot in Tremont. Two men were shot near E. 112th Street and Benham Avenue. One is dead.
A 17-year-old was killed on London Avenue. The shooting happened in broad daylight in the ward Polensek represents.
He said families were enjoying the day when the shooting happened. He said the crime scene spanned five streets. “A raging gun battle allegedly between two stolen cars, 60 shell casings,” Polensek said.
So far this year, according to Cleveland Police reports, several crimes are up, including grand theft of vehicles, homicides, and armed robbery.
“The last time I looked, the charter was clear, the mayor is in charge. He’s the chief executive. I don’t care if he has to get the 82nd airborne in here, I don’t care if it’s the National Guard, I don’t care who he has to get into the city to start patrol these streets to send a message that this chaos is going to cease,” said Polensek.
Cleveland Police staffing levels are today the same as they were in 1923. “It’s been the perfect storm for criminals,” he added.
Michael Deemer is President and CEO of Downtown Cleveland. “I had phone calls yesterday and today, obviously a lot of concern,” said Deemer.
Concerns about safety from businesses and residents. “I'm always concerned when we have safety issues in downtown," he added
That’s why he said Downtown Cleveland is doing something to try to curb violent crime. “We are adding neighborhood safety specialists and we are increasing our deployment. We are working closely with the city of Cleveland on strategies to improve the safety presence,” said Deemer.
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