In Lincoln, shootings and shots fired up 40% from this time last year
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Lincoln has had more gun assaults and victims in 2022 than in the previous five years, with three months still left in the year.
Rising violence is a topic on the minds of Lincoln residents and law enforcement.
The recent strings of shootings and homicides in the city have been a major focus of the Lincoln Police Department.
LPD addressed some of the public’s worries during a press conference for a homicide case.
“They have concerns, and we have concerns as well about the violence in our city,” Assistant Chief Jason Stille said. “Looking at the trailing five years, this is the most shooting incidents and shooting victims that we’ve had.”
So far in 2022, there have been 90 reports of shootings and shots fired in Lincoln.
Compared to this same time last year, that is a nearly 40% increase.
Police Chief Teresa Ewins said some of these numbers can be attributed to gang activity.
“We also have to look at the fact that a lot of these shootings were gang-related,” Ewins said. “People’s anger towards each other, it cannot always be about grabbing a firearm. That can’t be the solution.”
Stille said there is only so much the police department can do on its own.
“This is a community problem, and we need to handle it as a community,” Stille said. “So we will do our part, but we need people to come forward and help us out.”
Capt. Ben Miller with criminal investigations said the recent homicides have kept his team very busy.
“It creates a lot of sleepless nights for them. They’ve been fantastic, though,” he said. “They’ve been working really hard, and certainly, it becomes frustrating when these things continue to go on.”
Police say they don’t have a clear solution to the problem, but they need the community to work with them by securing personal guns and coming forward with any information on open cases.
“If we can stop that violence from even happening before we know it’s going to happen, then that’s a huge win,” Ewins said.
