Longtime Stockton resident says her neighborhood has "deteriorated" following trend of crimes
STOCKTON – Shootings, drug deals, and crime have caused a Stockton resident of 75 years to say her block has "deteriorated" from what it was.
The latest incident was an overnight shooting that left a 56-year-old man dead. The victim, Bryant Murray, identified by a member of his family to CBS13, was shot just before midnight on Tuesday.
Stockton police report Murray was in the driver's seat of a car and tried to drive off after he was shot. He later died at the scene. The passenger in the vehicle was not injured, according to a police spokesperson.
Further up East Church Street, Gloria Young's newly installed security camera caught the sounds of more than a dozen gunshots at 11:50 p.m. Monday. She said she herself heard seven gunshots, at least, and by 11:58 p.m. Stockton police patrol cars were caught on her surveillance arriving at the scene on the 200 block of East Church Street.
Young said she's lived in the neighborhood for 75 years and remembers it differently decades ago.
"We're not the problem, they're the problem," said Young, speaking of the illegal activity she says she sees from her front porch.
Young said she's witnessed cars line up on her block and watched as money was exchanged, she believes, for illegal substances. Young said she's contacted city leaders over the years, but nothing has changed. She doesn't blame law enforcement, but instead, said she's installed security cameras to keep track of what happens outside her home.
She's frustrated and she isn't the only Californian to feel this way.
In a recent Public Policy Institute of California survey, an overwhelming majority of California adults say violence and street crime are either a big problem (30%) or at least somewhat of a problem (46%) in their local community. Of California adults, 24% say it's not much of a problem. The number of adults that reported they believed it was somewhat of a problem went up by 11 percentage points since February 2022.
By the numbers, Stockton's victim deaths due to gun violence are up in 2023 compared to 2022, based on statistics reported by the Gun Violence Archive. In 2023, from March 1 to May 16, there were 15 victims killed by guns. In the same period of 2022, there were nine victims killed. These numbers don't include suspects or subjects killed by guns, or injuries, though they are tracked.
In Sacramento, a city with around 200,000 more people in its population, there have been seven victims killed by guns from March to May 16 this year. Comparing Stockton's numbers to California cities of similar population sizes of around 300,000 people, Riverside and Anaheim have both had fewer than five victims killed by guns in the same period.
"Every time there's a significant incident like this one, it's concerning to us at the [Stockton] Police Department," said spokesperson Officer David Scott.
Scott said there are plans for the department's Neighborhood Impact Team to walk the Church St. area and neighborhood to speak with residents one-on-one and "build trust" to learn more about their concerns and get information that may help the investigation.
The Stockton Police Department asks anyone with information to call our non-emergency number at (209) 937-8377 or the Investigations Division at (209) 937-8323. Anonymous tips are accepted by Stockton Crime Stoppers. Stockton Crime Stoppers will pay a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
