Pueblo neighbors tired of living surrounded by crime
A Pueblo neighborhood is facing its very own crime wave.
On Wednesday neighbors were awakened by a drive-by shooting.
Neighbors now say, they’ve had enough.
“I don’t like hearing sirens, and it’s almost become a way of life,” Diana Bolton said.
Bolton grew up on the east side of Pueblo. She lives there now, just a few doors down from the drive-by shooting that injured two people in the 1300 Block of 9th St. Wednesday night.
Police believe that shooting could be related to gang activity.
The gangs have kind of taken over,” Bolton said. “And the drug problems in this town are getting really bad.”
KRDO NewsChannel 13 brought you to that neighborhood back in April, where FBI Safe Streets Task Force agents have been focusing on the drug problems.
“It just seems like times are changing and it’s happening more frequently,” resident Linda Chacon said.
Parents in the neighborhood say that because of the shootings, burglaries and other events, they don’t feel comfortable to bring their kids to the park just down the street.
“I had to tell my children’s physical therapist, ‘No, don’t take my kids to the park, it’s dangerous,” Bolton said.
Just in the past week, police have arrested people in that neighborhood for burglary and possession of cocaine, among other things.
And just last Monday, another shooting.
“It’s no secret anymore, we’ve had staffing shortages for quite some time now,” Crime Prevention Officer Brandon Beauvais said.
Beauvais said the lack of staff with the Pueblo Police Department is part of the problem.
“We have so many officers assigned to all parts of town, but when we start getting overloaded with calls for service, then they get prioritized,” Beauvais said.
To begin to solve the problems, requires teamwork.
“That’s how we’re going to slowly deter this crime, we’ve got to work together,” Beauvais said.
This is an idea Bolton thinks could help her neighborhood.
“The community I think would be better off, if we all kind of joined forces and forced all of this out of the community,” Bolton said.
The Police Department said they have seen a lot of success with their neighborhood watch groups. Currently there are more than 50 groups in the city of Pueblo, and of those 50, only one is on the east side of town.
