Salem Police, city host second community forum on reducing gun violence

More than 50 people gathered at Chemeketa Community College late into the night Friday in the second in a series of community conversations to discuss ways to reduce gun violence.

The Community Violence Reduction Initiative session was in Spanish, at the request of community members following the initial meeting in March.

Police again shared results of a 2023 report showing 100% increase in shootings in Salem since 2018. A Gun Violence Problem Analysis shows 42% increase in violent crime from 2009 to 2023, shootings are clustered in a five-square-mile area, and victims and suspects in 51% of crimes involving gun violence were Hispanic.

Police Chief Trevor Womack, initially speaking in Spanish, said sharing the data was not about speaking negatively about one group of people, but about identifying who is most at risk and finding resources and ways to reduce that risk.

City, police ask Salem community for ideas to reduce gun violence

Community members broke into smaller groups to share their initial reactions to the data and to brainstorm how the city and police should resolve the problem together.

Large post-it notes featured reactions like anxiety, fear and the desire for more answers. Among solutions were the need for more communication, even more data, gun control, leadership training and more focus on resources for youth in the community.

Salem Police reported a 320% increase in juvenile arrests for aggravated assaults from 2021-2023 relative to the prior three years and an 88% increase in juvenile charged with weapons violations from 2021-2023 relative to the previous period.

Angela Hedrick, public information officer for Salem Polce, told community members that guiding principles for the initiative had been identified from a community conversation in March:

• Following the data

• Measuring progress

• Intervention and prevention

• Collaboration and communication between the community and police

• Taking responsibility

• Learning and growing

• Empowering the community

Members of the community asked for additional guiding principles to be added including transparency, accountability and a commitment to bilingual and multicultural resources.

Womack said police and the city plan to have at least three more similar community forums before releasing a report at the end of the year with everything gathered during meetings.

It’ll be a “building block,” he said, to identifying resources needed to implement specific recommendations. Womack said the community meeting was intended to bring the community, city and police together, not to provide “direct answers.”

Parents of teen killed in Bush's Pasture Park shooting attend community forum

Aida Valenzuela said she and her husband, Alvaro Vazquez, attended the meeting to stay informed on gun violence. Their son, Jose Manuel Vazquez Valenzuela, a 16-year-old South Salem High School sophomore, was killed March 7 in the shooting at Bush’s Pasture Park.

Valenzuela is a teacher with Salem-Keizer Public Schools and said she's frustrated with where resources are directed. She is also bracing herself for the massive layoffs that the district announced this month.

Northeast Salem resident Marlen Torres said she and her grandson witnessed the shooting that also injured two other district students. Her grandson, she said, remains shaken by the violence.

Violence is commonplace in her neighborhood, Torres said, and she wanted to attend the meeting to encourage police to better communicate with the community.

She said police frequently request footage from security cameras around her property, but she is frustrated by limited follow-up. She remains on edge, unsure if there have been arrests, for example, she said.

Torres told Womack that collaboration means community members who are directly impacted should have a seat at the table when decisions are being made. She asked the police not to come to them last.

"This is the invitation to the seat at the table,” Hedrick said.

Valenzuela also asked Womack for a better understanding of how youth are getting guns used in shootings.

Womack said they are traded among youth, stolen, bought illegally, or exchanged by older members within gangs and criminal groups. He agreed with another community member that there is a need for direct involvement with school groups and said “there’s hope” for identifying solutions even if he didn't have immediate suggestions or answers.

Salem Mayor Chris Hoy addressed the limited funding the city faces to implement some ideas.

“The fact is none of us have the resources to solve this problem alone,” Hoy said.

The mayor talked about ongoing conversations to create a multicultural youth center. While the city doesn’t necessarily have the money to operate that kind of center, it could help with the land, for example, Hoy suggested.

“I do think there are ways to solve this problem without more money,” Womack said.

Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on X @DianneLugo

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem Police, city host community forum to reduce Salem gun violence