Neighbors Worry After Weekend Gang Violence

PEORIA - A gang-related party ending with gunshots has neighbors concerned for their safety.

Police said members of Peoria's "Bomb Squad" gang were having a party early Saturday morning in the 1600 block of North Bigelow Street when things went awry.

Neighbor Dennis Silas said, "I'm puzzled with the young kids shooting each other, and the gangs and everything."

Neighbors said the 1600 block of North Bigelow is generally quiet, but a house on the corner is causing new concern.

Neighbor Wilmer Andrada said, "With the neighborhood we've been really vigilant. We don't tolerate noise after nine o'clock."

He said it's now more than noise. He said the neighborhood association has banded together, but he's depending on law enforcement and Peoria's Don't Shoot initiative to tackle this problem.

Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard said, "We're tracking these events. We knew when we did our first call in, it wouldn't be the end of all gang violence in Peoria. What we're doing now is each incident of gun violence we drill down into to see if there is a gang affiliation or gang connection and we're tracking that."

Chief Steve Settingsgaard said some gang members still haven't got the message, but he plans to make it clear. He said incidents like this won't be ignored. "We're going to pursue that case, we're going to be paying special attention to that house."

Settingsgaard said some arrests have been made but police still don't know who pulled the trigger. The case remains under investigation.