'Out of control': Rockford families reflect on four deadly shootings in 10 days

ROCKFORD — Before COVID-19, Chris Hill said Rockford already was reeling from a deadly epidemic.

"The gun violence here has been a pandemic since before the pandemic," said the 40-year-old husband and father. "It's been out of control."

Hill, a father of five boys, shared his concerns Wednesday while standing in the driveway of his Green Dale Drive home, just a few doors down from where a 56-year-old woman was shot and killed on April 25.

"We thought we were moving into a better neighborhood," Hill said referring to the family's previous residence on Rockford's Apple Orchard Lane. A house there was struck by gunfire numerous times on Dec. 11 resulting in the death of 26-year-old Deanton Davis.

"We're paying $500 more in rent, and a murder still happens right next door to you," he said. "So, this is happening all over the city. It's crazy."

There have been eight homicides so far this year in Rockford, a city of 148,655 people according to 2020 census data. All of the deaths have been fatal shootings. All have occurred in residential neighborhoods.

The last four took place over a 10-day span in the past two weeks.

It's a level of gun violence that has residents like Hill concerned about the safety of their families and the trauma being inflicted on the entire community.

Hill said his family had just gone to bed for the night when they heard four loud gunshots that night on April 25.

"It sounded like my door was getting kicked off the hinges, and then there were four more (loud gunshots) right after that," he said. "We were scared to look out the window because it was so close."

Hill did not know his neighbor but said the woman was friendly and told him the previous family who stayed in his home had children in sports and that she attended their games.

"She asked me if my boys were in sports and said she would come to their games, too."

'It's too much'

Aja McCarney is a four-year resident of the 2500 block of 17th Avenue. She lives across the street from where a 48-year-old woman was shot and killed in her home last Wednesday.

"It was an isolated incident. So, I'm not really scared about it," she said.

However, McCarney said she is fearful for the well-being of her 18-year-old son, Joey, who just committed to wrestling at the University of Dubuque.

"I'm more afraid to drive through Rockford and for my kid to drive through Rockford," she said. "I'm glad he's leaving, and I'll be leaving shortly after."

McCarney said the frequency and proximity of the violence is what's driving her away.

'Absolutely tragic': Friends mourn Rockford bar owner who was fatally shot

"It's too much," she said. "It's nonstop. ... I knew Tony (Angileri) down at Victory Tap. He was a friend of mine."

Angileri, a co-owner of the Victory Tap, was fatally shot on April 30 at his Lapey Street home.

'When God wants us'

At the end of a Grant Avenue cul-de-sac, red balloons are caught high in tree. From a distance, they suggest something festive had taken place nearby.

The balloons were part of a memorial for a 31-year-old man killed at a home there on April 27.

Related: Police: Man shot and killed on Rockford's northwest side

Reuben and Cathy Rivera are in their 70s. They have resided in their neatly-trimmed Grant Avenue home for 11 years.

The couple said the sound of gunfire, sirens and crime scene tape is not foreign to them. Stray bullets have entered their living room before.

But the Riveras, who previously lived in Chicago, say they are in their forever home now.

"For the most part, people are friendly here," Cathy said of her Signal Hill neighbors. "I like the whole atmosphere, and I like the old houses."

Her husband, Reuben, put it this way: "The way we see it, when God wants us, it's going to be by whatever means He chooses. Until then, we're safe."

A public health crisis

Willette Benford, is a Chicago resident with Rockford ties. She said anytime someone has an easier time accessing a gun than they do a job, it's going to be a problem for that community.

Benford is a member of Live Free Illinois, an organization dedicated to combating violence and mass incarceration.

More: LIVE FREE Illinois pushes for Rockford gun violence prevention office

Gun violence often is committed by a very small percentage of a community's population, Benford said. However, reaching that population can be challenging.

"You have to make sure you are approaching it from a public health strategy because the underlying issues of gun violence is poverty, racism, systemic racism and disinvestment in communities," she said.

The city's existing programs are falling short, Benford said, because not enough resources are being dedicated to addressing gun violence.

Rockford's City Council voted unanimously last year to fund a $1.8 million expansion of the Mayor's Office of Domestic and Community Violence Prevention.

"Domestic violence is a problem. It really is. Women normally die at a five times higher rate if there is a gun in the house," Benford said. "However, gun violence on the street is a whole different entity. ... Gun violence needs to be approached as a separate entity from domestic violence."

Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara and Police Chief Carla Redd expressed their frustration over the city's recent spike in shooting deaths during a news conference last week.

McNamara called the level and rate of violence in the city a systemic problem that will require a systemic solution.

Of the eight homicides that have occurred this year in Rockford, two arrests have been made.

Anyone with information about any of the city's recent fatal shootings is asked to call Rockford police at 815-966-2900 or Rockford Area Crime Stoppers at 815-963-7867 or through an anonymous tip on Rockford Police’s TIP 411 app.

Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: 'Out of control': Rockford families reflect on four deadly shootings