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BPD considers gun buybacks and youth summer camp in response to increase in gun violence

 Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington.
Courtesy
Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington.

This is National Gun Violence Survivors Week, and a fairly significant increase in shooting incidents in Bloomington in 2022 is causing concern for the police department.

Here’s how Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington puts it into historical perspective:

“We’re dealing with more people that seem to be carrying guns than ever, in the history of the Bloomington Police Department,” Simington told WGLT on Thursday.

That increased prevalence of guns has mixed dangerously with increasing social friction apparently stemming from our emergence from the pandemic, he said.

“Socializing changed tremendously when people weren’t able to go about life as they were used to. And then once people started trying to reintegrate, conflict arose – in some communities, and between certain individuals,” Simington said.

In Bloomington last year, there were five fatal shootings, 10 shootings involving a non-fatal injury, and 27 other incidents in which shots were fired but no one was hit. The most concerning behavior, Simington said, has been among teenagers and those up to age 30. (Normal saw more shootings too.)

Another troubling statistic: The number of illegal guns seized by Bloomington Police (during traffic stops and other incidents) jumped 54% in 2022, including 81 illegal handguns.

Simington said his department has tried to respond. That includes the recent launch of BPD’s anonymous text-based tip line. Simington said they’re also trying to do more community education around safe gun storage, encouraging lawful gun owners to lock up their weapons. (At least 20% of the guns seized by police are directly known to have been stolen in residential burglaries or vehicle thefts, Simington said.)

The city is also expecting to receive a $500,000 violence-reduction grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). Simington said that could be used to fund things like a gun-buyback program; vouchers or gun safes to promote proper storage; and a summer camp for 30-40 junior high school students.

Simington said the increase in gunfire incidents is concerning.

“Violence causes harm not only to the individual who may suffer a gunshot wound, for instance, but it really impacts the entire family,” he said. “It could impact entire generations of a family who has to go through the heartbreak of losing a loved one.”

Ryan Denham is the digital content director for WGLT.
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