Following a brazen daylight shooting in South Stockton, local leaders and law enforcement officials are pushing for collaborative solutions to address ongoing violence in the community.
The shooting occurred Sunday afternoon on Bieghle Street, just south of Eighth Street near a neighborhood market, where San Joaquin County sheriff’s deputies found two victims around 2:30 p.m. Both were hospitalized, with one in critical condition, authorities said.
“This area is one of the most intense areas historically that we have issues with public safety,” said RC Thompson, executive director of the Reinvent South Stockton Coalition. Thompson emphasized the importance of addressing root causes of violence in the area rather than reacting to individual incidents.
Authorities have not yet released details about the shooting, including the ages of the victims. However, Nuri Muhammad, program strategy manager at Advanced Peace Stockton, said his team has been working to determine whether the violence was cyclical, retaliatory or domestic.
In response to the shooting, Vice Mayor Jason Lee, who represents South Stockton on the City Council, organized a conference call with law enforcement officials, community leaders and business owners.
“His strategy is to bring together a community of stakeholders, leaders and business owners … to create a strategy for this area,” Thompson said.
Community leaders hope that collaborative efforts will help curb the cycle of violence in South Stockton.
“It’s going to take a collective effort of everybody in the city, everybody in the county working on one accord,” Muhammad said. “Resources are tight, but if we work together as a collective, we are able to do a lot more.”