'Unacceptable': Stockton City Leaders Call for Peace After City's 16th Homicide
STOCKTON (CBS13) -- Stockton city leaders called for peace and reaffirmed their support for the community after the 16th homicide within city limits this year happened this week.
Thursday, as part of a community outreach event, Stockton's mayor and other community leaders gathered near the apartment where a hero was killed in a final act protecting his family.
Tyrone Deloney, 32, stood up to a gunman during a home invasion earlier this week. That gunman also allegedly shot his mother and pistol-whipped his 9-year-old niece during the deadly encounter on Tuesday night.
Stockton Police are calling the home invasion a random act of violence. Stockton's city manager told CBS13 how it fits into the other 15 homicides reported in 2022.
"Some of it is gang related, that's less than a third of it. Some of it is personal conflicts, and individuals not knowing how to deescalate or manage conflict with other people," said Harry Black, Stockton City Manager.
The community outreach event took place yards from the crime scene Tuesday night. Stockton police chaplains, joined by community outreach members, knocked on doors to share there was free food, resources, and general support from the city for them.
"You're loved by the city, you're loved by God," one community volunteer told a neighbor.
Black said a crime spike is common at least once a year, but typically happens at the end of spring or beginning of summer when the weather changes. He said, with the weather getting nice earlier, it could be a contributing factor, but not all crime can be predicted.
"Prior research has shown, less than 1% of Stockton's population drives 80% of gang violence," said Laura Larson, the Director of the Office for Violence Prevention.
Larson said she manages a team of 14, and seven of those are outreach members who often do social work within the community and more, she said. Their work doesn't happen in a bubble and they don't work alone.