Little Village leaders sound alarm after string of shootings

Those incidents start to add up for sure. People are concerned. Yeah, word on the street is that it could potentially be gang-related violence. It's hard to say, of course, if any of that is certain or if this is gang-related. Police won't confirm that. But what we do know is that Little Village leaders say they're overwhelmed with the recent violence and they don't feel supported. Three shooting incidents in a matter of days, leaving a family grieving and a community searching for answers. I always saw the news and all these kids dying. I never felt that pain. Tonight, local leaders say they need more than promises. Little Village is on fire and all we have is a bucket of water. So how do you expect to turn off the fire? It started earlier this month with a shooting involving an off-duty Chicago police officer near 24th and Rockwell. then on October 10th 22 year old Abigail Simoza was shot outside her home while preparing Halloween decorations with her mother her father has raised the possibility that the shooting was gang related and Abby may have been caught in the crossfire they fight for streets or property that they don't belong to the matter i don't i don't know just days later four more people were shot in a drive-by attack near 26th and Pulaski. Police say a white sedan pulled up and someone inside opened fire. Four people were rushed to the hospital. You have violence at home, violence in school, violence in the street, so they find it cathartic to just kill each other and they feel nothing in their heart. Baltazar Enriquez with the Little Village Community Council says gang violence in Little Village is no secret, but the recent increase in violence is alarming. He says he's been urging city leaders to invest in more mental health resources to address the root causes of violence. It goes on deaf ears. Right now all they care is about votes. How can I get the vote or let me get your signature so I can be on the ballot and they're not addressing the real issues which is that we have a mental health problem here in Little Village. And stronger protections for witnesses who may fear retaliation. He says people need to feel safe coming forward with information without worrying about putting their own lives at risk. People do know who did it, but they're afraid to come forward and they don't give us witness protection. They don't give us victims protection. The Little Village Community Council is now working to organize a peace march, hoping to help families heal and put more pressure on city leaders to act. And we did reach out to Chicago police just a few hours ago to see if there are any updates on this case. No new updates here. And again, as Baltasar said, people do want to call in with these tips, but there's no trust with the police in terms of, are you going to protect us? Are we safe with coming with this information? That's troubling. There are some anonymous ways to do that online and also by phone. So make sure if you have information, you're still passing that along. It helps everyone in the community. Thank you, Leslie.