RACINE — On average this year, there have been 19.7 reports of shots fired per week, or 2.82 per day, in the City of Racine.
The Racine Police Department reported on Monday, May 16, that there had been 383 shots fired reports so far in 2022.
As of May 16, 2021, there had been 257 shots fired calls, according to the RPD, indicating an increase of more than 49%.
Shots fired reports are not a perfectly accurate way of measuring actual gun violence, as not every shot is reported, there may be multiple reports for a single shot and there could also be inaccurate reports such as someone who thought they heard gunshots but it was actually something like fireworks.
However, the rate of homicides is higher in 2022 than in 2021. There was also a mass shooting Feb. 13 in which five people were shot just before 2 a.m. in the area of Seventh Street and Park Avenue before the accused shooter fled and minutes after shot himself as police closed in.
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All six homicides in the City of Racine so far in 2022, with victims as young as 14 and as old as 50, have been committed with a firearm.
In 2021, Racine County’s sixth homicide of the year came on July 13.
“With summer around the corner, this number will continue to rise,” the RPD reported Monday. “Addressing the underlying contributors to gun-violence, then responding to these areas with preventatives measures is something we hope the community will support.”
The focus of Police Chief Maurice Robinson has been getting guns out of the hands of juveniles. The Racine Police Department reported Thursday that, the day prior, a 14-year-old carrying a 9mm pistol was taken into custody. In a social media post, the RPD said “It might look like a normal gun but it is not. This is a ghost gun, that includes a full auto-selector switch and a magazine that holds 40 rounds. Ghost guns do not have serial numbers and are untraceable firearms that are typically assembled at home from kits bought online.
“To truly emphasize the seriousness of this, a 14-year old juvenile had in his possession a fully automatic ghost gun. This is the reality Racine Police Officers are dealing with on a daily basis. If you see something, say something!”
Robinson has repeatedly urged members of the public to call police if they suspect a juvenile has a firearm or access to one, so that law enforcement can take the gun from them.
Ghost guns are something the Biden administration have looked to go after. Last month the Associated Press reported “The White House and the Justice Department argue that regulating the firearms parts and requiring dealers to stamp serial numbers on ghost guns will help drive down violent crime and aid investigators in solving crimes. Gun groups, however, argue that the government is overreaching and that its rule violates federal law.”