CLEVELAND — Cleveland Police are on the hunt for those involved in the double shooting in Slavic Village on the same street, hours apart.
At about 2 a.m., police responded to a ShotSpotter alert of multiple shots fired at the 3600 block of East 59th Street in Slavic Village, Cleveland Police Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz said.
RELATED: Cleveland Division of Police investigating homicides in Slavic Village on same street, hours apart
A man I spoke to off camera told me he'd heard about eight shots pop off that morning and that it sounded like the rounds came from two different guns.
A 42-year-old man was found wounded by gunshots. Officers provided aid to the victim until EMS got to the scene.
Diaz said the man was pronounced dead by EMS when they got to the location.
Almost eight hours later, at 9:40 a.m., police received another ShotSpotter alert for a single shot fired at the same location, Diaz said.
According to Diaz, 36-year-old Alissha Brown was found with a gunshot wound and was also pronounced dead by EMS once they arrived at the scene.
"It was really crazy. I saw it on Facebook and I was like, wait a minute, and then I walked down the street because I always walk and didn't see nothing. No caution tape, no nothing," Slavic Village resident Dana Pitcher said in reference to the second shooting.
Diaz said the two shootings are separate and the homicide unit is investigating both of them.
No arrests have been made as of Monday night.
Pitcher said it makes her feel uneasy hearing that whoever is responsible for these latest deaths is still roaming.
"That's pretty brazen," Pitcher said. "Now I walk with my boyfriend and my pit bull."
Another resident, Anthony Carter, told me crime has been steady in Slavic Village since he first moved to the neighborhood eight years ago.
"People are breaking in abandoned houses and squatting, the drugs. We got guys still wearing ski masks. [I'm] kind of scared. You can't even go to the store. If you go to the store, you pull out some money, you don't know if you're being watched, followed, you know, so you have to like pretty much run home or make sure you walk where it's crowded. In the same token, people don't care either way," Carter said.
Michael McKee has also lived in the neighborhood for about eight years.
He described Slavic Village as a good neighborhood with good people, but admits crime has continued to rise.
"I worry about the safety and welfare of the mothers and the children around here," McKee said. "I think it's a shame. People's gonna be people. Society's gonna be society, you know what I mean? I'm nervous every time I walk the streets, but I mean, it is what it is. It's in God's hands."
All three residents mentioned a lack of police presence in Slavic Village and said they'd like to see more cruisers patrolling the neighborhood, hoping that might deter violent crime.
"It's like the police, they don't care. I mean, this neighborhood is like pretty much abandoned by the city. I feel that the city ain't doing nothing about it," Carter said.
Slavic Village falls under Ward 12, which is represented by Councilwoman Rebecca Maurer.
"All of Slavic Village is considered one zone by the 4th district, and there is one car for the entire zone for the entire shift. That means it makes total sense that you don't see a police car coming down your street because our plan, when it's going according to plan, is just one car for that whole big area," Maurer explained.
She said city council has been maintaining a conversation with the Cleveland Police Department about staffing issues, but that the agency remains understaffed.
"We hope that going to the 12-hour shifts kind of eases some of this pressure, but the reality is that until we are fully staffed, we are running on these tight crews," Maurer said.
Short-term, though, Maurer said the city has called for special attention to the area of East 59th Street and Mound Avenue, which means more police presence.
"What we need to do is make sure that people have that sense that OK, police are out there, they care, they're engaged because I know CPD wants to offer that to the neighborhood. They are as frustrated as we are," Maurer said. "The neighborhood has just taken hit after hit after hit. When we have these back to back news stories, it just is a punch in the gut to the neighborhood. I live in Slavic Village. I feel it. The only thing I try to tell myself and that I try to offer the neighborhood is what Mr. Rogers said, which is to look for the helpers."
Looking towards the future, Maurer said there isn't much that can be done at the local level to curb gun violence.
"We don't have the tools yet for the gun violence that we're experiencing. It is horrific and the city is unable to regulate gun control the way that we want to because our hands are tied by the state and federal governments," she said. "I think we should all stand behind common sense gun control. We know we can make a difference, but it doesn't feel like enough when you have gunshots pinging off on your street, the block over, the block behind you."
Maurer said there is a community meeting Tuesday night in Slavic Village where, if the topic comes up, she plans to address it.
"I do love the idea of a conversation but realistically, I want to be able to offer something to people. I would encourage our state senators and our federal senators who have blocked gun control to come to Slavic Village and hear from us about what we're experiencing," Maurer said.
We also talked about increased surveillance around Cleveland with Maurer.
Maurer told me, "If that's not stopping what we're already seeing, then I'm not going to push for more money for it until I know I can deliver."
If you have any information regarding either shooting, please call Cleveland Police at 216-621-1234.
