Saying she was "sick and tired of being sick and tired" about teenage shootings, Mayor Edna Jackson on Monday morning offered an often-fiery public pledge to curb youth violence.
Police Chief Willie Lovett put the community on notice that juvenile misbehavior was going to be dealt with much more aggressively by his officers.
"It's a whole new ball game now," he said. "The time has come. We were just inches away from burying seven people. As a department, we will go beyond the call of duty. We will make an effort, and all I'm asking for is your support."
He cautioned council that they would be getting calls from parents upset that their children had been stopped on the streets.
"When these kids, these juveniles, are running around in gangs and they get in trouble, the first thing they do is call mom or dad," Lovett said. "They don't ask about the 9 mm (the child had.) They're concerned about why are you stopping my child?"
Mayor Edna Jackson was quick to assure calls from complaining parents wouldn't be tolerated. She urged parents they had to get involved in knowing where their kids were and what they were doing.
Parents who refuse to take responsibility for their children's criminal behavior, and she referenced the city's Parental Responsibility Act, which can take action against a parent who does not make sure their child is attending school and staying out of trouble.
"It is time to wake up," she said. "Do you know who your children are hanging out with? Do you know where they are at night? You must be able to answer these questions."
Jackson, Lovett, members of City Council and Acting City Manager Stephanie Cutter were a united front at the morning press conference at City Hall, which was called to address Saturday night's shooting of seven people at the Coastal Empire Fair and other recent problems with teen violence.
Watch video of the press conference by clicking "Play" to the left. Come back to savannahnow.com for more updates as we get the details of this incident, or check out Tuesday's edition of Savannah Morning News.
Investigators worked through the night Saturday and into Sunday questioning suspects, all of whom were later released. No arrests had been made by Sunday evening, and police were not sure whether one gunman or multiple shooters were involved.
What they have learned is that about 10:40 p.m. Saturday, about 15 males, who appeared to be in their late teens, converged on the midway. At least one, Lovett said, had a gun in his waistband, a witness later told police.
The teens were from two factions. One was a group from Tatemville. The second, from an area of town slightly north, near 54th and Montgomery streets, known as “The Hellhole.”
Police working the fair as off-duty security had scrambled to quell a fight in another area of the fair when shots began ringing out.
Listed as injured were Jamiende Johnson, 19; Keonna Roberson, 14; Deshawn King, 16; Diqwanie Butler, 18; Keyona Haward, 17; Jeffery Crawford, 18, and Tamika Williams, 36. Police press officials were unable to specify which of the seven needed surgery.
Paul Glover, who lives near the fairgrounds, said his wife called their 19-year-old son as soon as she heard about the shooting to tell him to get home immediately. He told his father he was nearby when the shooting started.
“He said people were ducking down, hiding behind stuff and taking cover,” Glover said.
Mayor Jackson learned of the shootings on her way to church Sunday. She contacted other City Council members to plan a 10 a.m. press conference today. She is concerned about this shooting and other recent crimes involving teenagers.
“Innocent people are being shot and killed,” she said. “They’re not getting along with each other and they’re using guns. We cannot tolerate that in Savannah. Our residents should not feel that they can't be safe at public functions and in their neighborhood.”
Lovett believes there are bystanders who saw what happened, and he repeated a call that investigators often struggle with after shootings here: an unwillingness for witnesses to help police. He urged anyone who could help to call investigators or call CrimeStoppers.
“We need to get these kids,” he said. “They had no regard for human life whatsoever, shooting into a crowd of people like that. I hope that when these people are brought to justice, the justice system holds them in the same regard.”
Police resources
Lovett has done more than ask for the public's assistance.
Earlier this year, his department submitted a number of requests to increase personnel. He asked for five juvenile officers to work more closely with youth crime issues. His head of criminal investigations asked for 12 more investigators, two property room techs, a sergeant to supervise and five administrative assistants, which would free up detectives from the crush of paperwork.
The chief also followed up on a request for a street-level drug unit he made during a meeting earlier this year with Jackson and then-City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney and Alderman Tony Thomas. In the written proposal, the department asked for 30 more officers for the drug unit.
His staff estimated the total cost to equip the unit and pay salaries would be $2.8 million.
The five juvenile officers were estimated to cost $492,719. The investigators, sergeant and property techs were estimated at $1.2 million. The five investigative administrative assistants: $156,749. The total of the requests: about $4.6 million.
None of the requests is part of the 2013 budget. City budget staff this Wednesday and Thursday will present a proposed budget that calls for no new funding requests for any department, including police.
Council members will be presented with each department's requests and can decide how many, if any, will be included in the budget.
What they will have to figure out is how to pay for any additional approvals.
The city is projected to end this year with no surplus and had to tap into its reserve funds to break even for 2012.
Jackson remembered Lovett's request and expects it to be presented.
“That is one thing we will be looking for in the new budget,” she said.
On the midway
Sunday afternoon, hours before the fair was about to close, parents pushed babies in strollers, older children scooted from one ride to another and couples strolled hand in hand.
Paul Glover Sr. had his 2-year-old granddaughter on his shoulders. The daytime is fine, he said.
“Night time, no. We go home,” he said.
Not far away, Nicole Soldan was ushering four children out of the gates and back toward their car. Her daughter, Isabella, was celebrating her seventh birthday. They went to the fair Saturday night, despite Soldan's reservations, because Isabella was insistent.
At the entrance gate, Soldan said, a police officer warned her away.
“He said, ‘It’s not a family-friendly night’ and said ‘By way of example, let me tell you I'm wearing my bulletproof vest,’” Soldan said.
She left with the children and was relieved and thankful Sunday they hadn't stayed.Isabella, Laura, 14, Harrison, 11, and friend Mary Tippins, 7, left Sunday loaded down with food, stuffed animals and smiles.
“Today was wonderful,” Soldan said.
Those are the memories fair president Chris Hafer wants remembered.
Before Saturday night, they had nothing but good news. The fair had attracted more than 60,000 people, an increase from last year, even in a weak economy.
He was on the midway Sunday, as were many other members of the Exchange Club. The fair began 63 years ago as a fundraiser to support youth organizations, such as the Jenkins Boys and Girls Club. It also contributes to the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse and each year sponsors the Quick Think-A-Thon, which teaches elementary school children about the risks of downed power lines and similar hazards.
Gun violence hasn't been part of the education, Hafer said, but in light of Saturday, it might need to be.
In the hours since the shooting, Hafer’s immediate priority Sunday, aside from staying on site to assure a smooth final day to the fair, was to offer the victims and their families his prayers.
He was hesitant to say what, if anything, needed to change, but said the board of directors would discuss any changes, as they do after every fair.
Nearly 50 off-duty Savannah-Chatham metro police officers were working as security. Within minutes of the shooting, the number of law enforcement, including Georgia State Patrol and Chatham County Sheriff's deputies, swelled to about 150, he said.
“We were doing our best to protect everybody,” he said. “As soon as shots were fired, we carried out our emergency plan. We locked everything down to control the situation. The response from law enforcement was incredible.”
Hafer said he, too, initially wondered whether metal detectors should be installed. At the grounds on Sunday, he looked at the hundreds of feet of chain-link fence and realized how easy it would be for someone to pass through a gun. Even more police or a different location might not help.
The fair’s location, off 62nd Street from Montgomery Street, has become a point of concern for some.
Though the grounds are well-lit and police and volunteers plentiful, it is ringed by some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, and the signs of people living in abject poverty are everywhere.
Hafer on Sunday wasn’t sure anywhere would be safe. “What if we had it at The Pink House downtown? The same thing happened there,” he said. “So where do we go? Do we not go to movies because of what happened in Colorado?”