Community turns out for violence forum on shootings

After a week marked by multiple incidents of gun violence, about 100 concerned citizens turned out at Templeton Elementary last night to share their safety concerns with city officials.\nDuring the meeting's question-and-answer forum, Bloomington Police Captain Joe Qualters said police found no connection between the four episodes of gun violence that occurred last week in Bloomington.\n"I think it's the ebb and flow of different types of crimes," Qualters said. "There have in fact been previous incidents of gun violence. I like to think it's atypical."\nTempleton is located near Bryan Park, the site of a shooting last week that left two injured and led to four arrests.\nQualters said the altercation developed between two former friends, one of whom was upset that the other had "decided to align himself with another faction in town." Qualters stressed the "factions" were not necessarily gangs, though he later said "some people do loosely identify with a particular gang."\nQualters said BPD has noticed an increase in gun-related charges, though not a dramatic one.\n"It used to be that if we got a call for gunshots, we were pretty sure it was fireworks," he said. "Now that's not necessarily true."\nDuring the meeting, Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan answered questions from residents regarding increased violence in the community, police enforcement and concern about the safety of Bryan Park.\n"We're not making ourselves into a bunker mentality," Kruzan said. "The key to solving this problem in the long-term is prevention."\nAll city officials present encouraged neighbors to call the city any time they see something out of order. Mick Renneisen, director of Bloomington's Parks and Recreation Department, said his office lacks the manpower to maintain a constant presence at all the 33 parks it oversees.\n"(Residents) can do a lot better job getting around to all the parks than we can," he said.\nSome residents wanted to know why they didn't see more police presence at the park, while others thanked Qualters for the patrols they did see. Qualters said though BPD has a limited number of per capita officers, the department has plans to add several officers in the coming months. Some will ride the department's new motorcycles, an addition which both Kruzan and Qualters say they hope will make officers more accessible to the public.\nOne Templeton teacher expressed concern with the proximity of the Bryan Park playground to Templeton, since she frequently takes her students there. Kruzan said police could not feasibly post an officer at all times, but residents can request that police include certain locations in their patrol routes.\nRenneisen encouraged residents not to be afraid to use the city's facilities. He said the presence of neighborhood residents at parks discourages potential criminals from congregating there.\n"(The shootings were) very unfortunate and very unusual," he said, adding that he hadn't seen such an occurrence in his 25 years with the city. "But (citizens') usage (of the parks) discourages that type of behavior"