Five homicides along South Stockton's Airport Way in March alone, city targets response in hotspot area
STOCKTON -- The Stockton Police Department (SPD) says five homicides in a small pocket of south Stockton along Airport Way since the start of March is an unusual uptick for the area that does typically see high crime.
The five homicides stem from three incidents that SPD reports happened:
- March 4 in the 2100 block of South Airport Way - killing two people
- March 5 at Mormon Slough near South Airport Way - killing one person
- March 16 in the 2400 block of Tiffany St just off of South Airport Way - killing two people
The incidents are unrelated, according to SPD, and a suspect has not been identified in any of the killings. In the March 4 homicide investigation, SPD released an image of a silver vehicle seen leaving the area of the double homicide immediately after the shootings. The vehicle is described as a silver-colored, 2018-2022 Infiniti SUV with tinted windows.
South Airport Way typically sees high crime, poverty, gang activity and other challenges, like limited access to resources.
"It is definitely an area that is disproportionately impacted by violence," said Lora Larson, director of Stockton's Office of Violence Prevention.
Larson says though this has been identified by her office as a hotspot area, five homicides just since the start of March is alarming, and not normal.
"We have our ear to the ground. We are trying to listen to what's going on. Is there an area we can focus our attention?" said Larson of the city's daily focus on stopping crime in its tracks.
Patrick High, president of the Stockton Police Association, says he wishes they could do more to prevent crime in South Stockton and citywide.
"It's disappointing but we are trying to do everything we can to turn that trend around," said High.
He says, for the department, there's one big barrier.
"We are down over 100 officers which makes things difficult and response times slower," said High.
Another number might be surprising but is more promising. The latest data from the Office of Violence Prevention shows that only 1% of Stockton's population of more than 300,000 is driving the city's violent crime.
"It takes it from a macro level down to a micro level and it is manageable," said Larson.
Even with a small number of drivers, homicides are up slightly citywide compared to this time last year. Since the start of 2023, SPD reports 17 homicides. This time last year 16 homicides were reported.
"If we are ever going to begin that healing and move past this we have to come together collectively where we can pool our resources," said Larson.
Stockton's Office of Violence Prevention is joining hands with community partners on Thursday, March 30 from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. at the M&M Market called "End the silence, Stop the violence." It's a community gathering with the goal of bringing neighbors together to feed them, support them and educate them about community resources for violence prevention.
