Officials eye plan to make Old Sacramento safer after latest shooting

By Brittany Hope

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    SACRAMENTO, CA (KCRA) — Another shooting in Old Sacramento is causing safety concerns for locals, tourists, and officials.

Police said two people were shot in the visitor-heavy area Monday night after a fight broke out between two separate groups. The victims, two adult men, are expected to survive.

This follows multiple other shootings so far in 2021:

January: A man was shot in the same intersection as Monday’s shooting July: Two people were killed, including a 16-year old, and four people were injured after a shooting in Old Sacramento August: A man was shot and killed during a fight on the walkway along the Sacramento River behind the Embassy Suites KCRA 3 reached out to Sacramento police for data regarding shootings in the historic area. Those specific numbers were not immediately available Tuesday night, but the department was able to provide year-to-date data for city-wide shootings.

According to the Chief’s August 2021 monthly report, shooting reports are up 43.6% so far in 2021, compared to 2020. The number of shooting victims is up 35.2%.

Police said they increased staffing downtown, including dedicating officers specifically to Old Sacramento, in response to recent crime in the area.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg also chimed in on the uptick in shootings, saying he is concerned about youth gun violence. He said $5 million was recently approved by the city council to go directly to Old Sacramento to help with safety issues and economic development.

“The business owners deserve it. The people of Sacramento deserve it,” Steinberg said. “The people who visit Sacramento deserve it. I recognize that we have a problem here. It’s not unique to Old Sacramento.”

City council is expected to vote on how those funds will be spent in mid-October. Steinberg said he will ask city councilors to vote for his plan that would include more surveillance cameras, lighting, code enforcement, law enforcement officers on patrol, and constructive programming for young people.

Some people who were in Old Sac at the time told KCRA 3 they no longer feel safe bringing their families to the historic area.

“I really only am down here because I work here,” Jordan Levels said. “That’s the only time I’m down here.”

Keldon Irwin lives nearby and tries not to be in the area late at night.

“I’m just cautious, particularly Friday and Saturday nights,” Irwin said. “I will just try not to even go out.”

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