Vicksburg Daily News –
VICKSBURG, MS – Local citizens and residents of the Fostoria neighborhood held an emergency meeting last night to address the three shootings that have occurred in the area since Sunday evening. For nearly an hour and a half, the approximately forty in attendance addressed solutions with local officials.
Alongside the local citizens in attendance were Mayor Flaggs, Alderman Monsour, Alderman Mayfield, as well as several from the Vicksburg Police Department including Chief Penny Jones, and Deputy Chief Mike Bryant.
The meeting began with a mostly back and forth between the Vicksburg Police Department explaining policies and procedures and citizen’s sharing frustrations and concerns regarding not the only the string of recent shootings in the area (three separate incidents since Sunday), but other concerns with crime in the area surrounding the neighborhood, an area that has had known criminal hot spots for over twenty years.
Not “gang related”
The police department shared with those in attendance that on any given shift, eight officers are on patrol at any given time.
Nessa Kingdom, who’s vehicle was damaged in Sunday evening’s shooting, addressed the concern that when she called 911 to report the incident, she was not only unable to get through to a dispatcher, but she also never received a call back. One other resident supported her claim, stating that they also never received a return call.
Another citizen asked if the recent string of shootings were “gang related,” Vicksburg Police Department Police Chief Penny Jones assured the crowd that they did not believe that to be the case.
“I’m not going to say it’s gang related, I would say it’s more so related to people who have issues with one another. Same as what’s going on with this issue that we are having right now with that particular house,” said Chief Jones “Its not reflective on any of the neighbors in the neighborhood, it’s issues that he has with someone else, and we are diligently working on that.”
NOLA cameras
A timeline was also addressed for the installation of one of the NOLA cameras installed in the area. These surveillance cameras are equipped with facial recognition as well as the ability to identify paraphernalia.
The city of Vicksburg currently has 265 cameras across the city, including 36 NOLA cameras.
According to Alderman Monsour, one of the NOLA cameras has been allocated for the Fostoria neighborhood, but claimed that due to Entergy not allowing the city to install the cameras on current power poles, installation time has been slowed.
“As soon as I can get a date, that thing will be up there, I will let you know,” said Alderman Monsour.
Alderman Monsour also touted the new installation of LED lights that have been installed across the city.
When the question of what can the citizens do to help, the VPD’s response was to “call 911.”
The subject of rewards for information leading to arrests was also discussed, to which the Police Department claimed that a system is currently in place.
Are these incidents targeted or random?
The meeting concluded with a direct question to Mayor Flaggs as the Police Commissioner, and the only time the Mayor spoke at the event: “Do these events change your stance on targeted versus random shootings?”
“This has been very educational and informative. Let me just say this: the day that incident happened, I came to the stop sign, I’m in a white truck with a police sign on it, been driving for three days. Three days. I came there, this young man right here came right in front of me, in front of a waste management truck and stopped,” said Mayor Flaggs, “I looked down into the crime scene and I saw a lot of blue lights. Now, I am not going into a crime scene. I’ve got a complaint already on me for having meetings without authority, I am not going into a crime scene to interfere. I support this group 200%, I’m not going to get into what we do and what we don’t do because of the fact I know the newspaper is here, I know what’s here. But I’m telling you this, I’m not going in a crime scene.”
After a brief interjection by a citizen to ask about the $10,000 dollars claimed to be allocated for rewards for information that leads to an arrest, the Mayor continued.
“We’ve already got $10,000 dollars. We got the $10,000 dollars right now. It was done six years ago. That’s what I’m saying we’ve already got all the tools we need. I’m not here to debate, I’m here to say to you that this [meeting] has been very effective, I’ve learned a lot and we’re going back to the table and we’re going to make this safe, that’s all. But I am not going to chase ambulances, okay? I’m not doing that, okay? Now, all I am saying to you is work with me. Work with me and we’ll do that, okay? You asked me the difference between random and targeted? We have different Federal laws that supersedes State law, I’ve been a state representative before coming here, and we have to use different methods to do what you just asked for. But you can’t target. You cant take this man’s house and target him. You can’t do that, because he hadn’t done anything yet.”
“Now what we got to do is continue to work together, communicate, collaborate, and talk. That’s all we got to do, and we’ll be fine. But I am not, not George Flaggs, I am not going to get caught in to this harassment and debate. I’m going to run the city, and I’m going to do it decent and in order, okay? I’ve done some things for this city, and we’re going to continue to do some things. That’s all I am going to say, because I think that’s important. You invited me over here, I wasn’t even supposed to be the speaker, but you invited me over here and I said I’m not coming unless the press is there. But I’m telling ya’ll, we’ve got to work together. We can’t turn on each other, we’ve got to turn to each other, okay? Now we can do this, but we’ve got to be decent and in order and that’s all I’ve got to say, because I think I’ve said enough here tonight. Whether I’ve got money or not, it makes no difference.”
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