TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) — A shooting on Apalachee Parkway at the McKenzie Market was the 26th shooting where someone was hurt in Tallahassee this year alone.
The Tallahassee Police Department is trying to prevent the next one from happening with community relations.
“We can’t do our jobs without citizens trusting us,” said David Alford, TPD community relations officer.
Alford said being in the community and hosting events are ways to ultimately lower crime in the community. Events like Cone with a cop are meant to build trust.
“To be able to pass along information to us and work with us, so it’s essential for our job to have that trust, community trust,”Alford said.
That trust is something that could lead to information on violent crime like what happened at the McKenzie Market near the Walmart in Southeast Tallahassee.
TPD responded at 9:09 p.m. to a shooting inside that store that left two people injured.
Workers could be seen repairing windows as the store sat closed Thursday.
Located off of Apalachee Parkway, the McKenzie Market is not the only place to experience gun violence in the zip code 32311 this year. According to TPD, this is the second shooting to happen in this area.
Heather Whitkker lives near the store and heard the gun shots. She did not want to go on camera, but says crime has risen in her area.
However, the area with the highest amount of shootings this year has been in the zip code 32304, with 34 shootings since January.
The people doing that crime have been mostly teens and young adults, with 53% of the people arrested for shootings being under 17 to 24.
Alford hopes that building trust with cop events like the ice cream social at the South Monroe McDonalds will help solve cases and stop crime.
“it’s a great way to have one on one contact with citizens and children and speak to them and kind of hear their stories and hear their feelings and just have that one on one interaction,” Alford said.
