Chief Joseph Wade says Jackson police are continuing a collaborative effort with Capitol Police to address gang and violence issues in the capital city, pushing even harder in the wake of two recent drive-by shootings that produced mass casualties.
“We know there’s a gang issue here in the city of Jackson and what we’re doing is addressing the issue holistically with our federal partners,” Wade said in a press conference Wednesday.
This comes the morning after nine people were shot in overnight drive-by shootings, including a 3-year-old child, and just days after six people were shot in one incident at the Daiquiri Bar.
“A threat to those nine people is a threat to you and a threat to me and we’ve got to hold people accountable for their actions here in the city of Jackson,” Wade said, later adding his concerns on the small child that was injured.
“Could you imagine the trauma and the terror of that baby being shot in the midst of all this chaos and foolishness?” he said. “Reckless. ‘I’m gonna shoot up this house, I’m gonna shoot up this neighborhood.’ You know, we’ve got to break this cycle. I know we can break it by holding them accountable.”
Authorities in the Jackson area have been collaborating for some time an anti-gang and anti-violence initiative, and that will just be increased, Wade said. “You’re going to see a very large combined effort,” he said.
“When we have these types of shootings where a lot of people have been shot, you have that cycle of retaliation,” he said. “I don’t know, I can’t prove or disprove that these situations had anything to do with that, but we’re preparing ourselves and we’re going to work in lock step to address these issues in the City of Jackson.”
Wade said conversations have been opened up with the U.S. Attorney’s office as well as other chiefs in the Metro area to talk about gang movement in the Magnolia state and how area jurisdictions can work together.
“When we’re talking about this gang activity, it’s very far-reaching,” Wade said. “It’s from Memphis to Tunica, from Tunica down to Canton, from Canton to Jackson. Then you have Crystal Springs to Jackson, McComb to Jackson, and vice versa.”
Jackson officials have, in the past, denied gang activity until a few years ago when they were forced to admit there was a problem. While the situation may not always include nationally-known gangs, smaller hybrid groups and neighborhood cliques are more dangerous, experts say, because they have no real hierarchy or code.
In addition, the drug trade that used to be run by American gangs is largely controlled and supplied by cartels now, working through American gangs.
“There’s a pipeline of individuals that are involved in gang activity and they’re also involved in guns, they’re involved in drug activity, so we have to deal with it holistically as we address it,” Wade said.
The chief asked that anyone with information on those shootings share it with police, even if it’s anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
Call JPD at 601-960-1234 or Crime Stoppers at 601-355-TIPS (8477).
