He has lived on the Middletown street for 11 years, and this is the first time there has been violence across the street from Rosa Parks Elementary School and next door to the church, he said.
“We never have had that type of problem around here,” the man said Monday afternoon while searching the street for more bullets. He found one nine-millimeter bullet under a car and another stuck in a drain.
“We never have had no shootings around here. This neighborhood has always been quiet,” he said.
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But on Thursday night, and again early Saturday morning, the sound of bullets, broken glass and police sirens filled the summer air.
Police were called to the 800 block of 11th Avenue late Thursday night after a 17-year-old boy was shot, and early Saturday morning after eight to 10 shots were reported fired and three parked vehicles and at least one house were struck.
On Saturday, a witness told Middletown police he saw a car pull up to a residence near the intersection of 11th Avenue and Lincoln Street, and a man got out and walked into the house. A short time later, the witness said, a dark colored car drove down the street. He said several people were inside the vehicle and they started shooting at the house in the 800 block.
The car then sped away, the witness told police. A man then ran out of the house, got into his vehicle and drove away, the witness said.
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Several bullets struck the house, the police report read. Three projectiles were located at the scene: one on the sidewalk and two inside the living room, police said.
Police also found 18 nine-millimeter shell casings located in the street in the 800 block of 11th Avenue.
There were six people inside the residence at the time of the drive-by shooting, but no one was struck, according to the report.
Bullet holes in the three vehicles were covered with tape and another shattered window was covered with plastic on Monday.
The resident who spoke with the Journal-News on the condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety said that because of the recent violence, people are afraid to let their children and grandchildren outside.
“We had to send them away,” the man said of his grandchildren who typically spend the night at his house. “They can’t run around here. They can’t play. We can’t sit on the porch. They’re scared. I’m not going to be scared. I’m not running. People are tired of this. People are tired of people thinking they’re scared of them.”
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On Thursday, a 17-year-old Middletown boy was shot in the foot by a stray bullet while standing on a home’s front porch, according to police.
Middletown police responded at 11:50 p.m. on a report of shots fired in the 800 block of 11th Avenue, according to a police report.
Three people said they were on the home’s front porch when one of them suffered a gunshot wound to his left foot, according to the report.
The neighbor said if the shootings continue, eventually someone will get seriously injured or killed. He wonders if the violence is tied to gangs, drugs or both. He just wants it to stop.
“I’m not going to put up with it,” the man said fighting back tears. “I want it resolved and I’m going to do what I have to do to get it resolved. I’m not going to stand around and let my family get hurt and me go to a funeral because somebody else wants to act a fool.”
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