Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe is calling on county and state services to help the city address an “unprecedented level of gun violence ” after several shootings took place this month near a local corridor.
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Sycamore Drive is a mile-long corridor located north of Hwy. 4 in Antioch. The areas near the drive, including Mahogany Way, Peppertree Way and L Street, have been plagued with nearly a dozen shooting sprees, which began with the killing of 21-year-old Elijah Scales on Sept. 3 near Sycamore.
An 18-year-old is in critical condition after being shot on Sept. 20 in the area of Cavallo Road and Sunset Drive, which is two miles east of Sycamore. Antioch police believe the shootings are related, as eight happened in a five-day span in the same area.
Officers have increased patrols in the area, but Hernandez-Thorpe said that is not enough to deter the violence. In a Saturday video posted on the mayor’s Instagram page, Hernandez-Thorpe called the shootings “retaliatory in nature” and said the events are being investigated by the police as gang rivalries.
He has asked the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office to support the Antioch Police Department by establishing a Safe Streets Task Force, which is a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement to address street gang and specific violent crime problems. “These gangs have no regard for human life, they have no regard for law enforcement, they have no regard for you or me,” Hernandez-Thorpe said in the video.
He also called on regional law enforcement officers to help Antioch patrol the Sycamore corridor and Cavallo Road and sought support from Gov. Gavin Newsom to send California Highway Patrol officers.
“No residents should live in fear, absolutely no one, especially in the city of Antioch,” Hernandez-Thorpe said in the video.
Hernandez-Thorpe said if violence does not subside, he will continue to push for “tougher actions and measures” including restricting access to the Sycamore corridor and Cavallo Road, enacting a curfew and calling on the governor to send the National Guard.
In the meantime, Antioch police are patrolling the corridor, according to a Sept. 17 press release from the department.
“This spate of violence will not be tolerated,” said Interim Chief of Police Brian Addington. “We have rearranged staffing and assigned two officers to patrol the Sycamore corridor for at least the next seven days. This effort aims to reduce gun violence and provide a sense of safety to the community and local businesses.”
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Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to contact Investigations Sgt. Bill Whitaker either through email at wwhitaker@antiochca.gov, or by calling 925-779-6876.