A string of violent crimes in north palm springs has police issuing a dire warning to the public. The chief of police spoke at a recent city council meeting bringing awareness to the issue saying it can happen anywhere in our city.
Since October, Palm Springs Police have received 85 calls for service related to shots fired in the North Palm Springs area.
“Multiple shootings with no specific intended target, just simply vehicles in each of the neighborhoods,” said Chief Bryan Reyes with the Palm Springs Police Department.
The police department is also investigating 3 homicides and 9 attempted homicides and has recently made 12 arrests connected to this string of violence.
“This is not a Gateway Estates problem, this is not a 1500 East San Rafael problem, This is a City of Palm Springs problem. It can happen anywhere in our city if these two rival entities cross paths,” explained Reyes.
Chief of Police Bryan Reyes addressed the Palm Spring city council in a special meeting to address the violence, attributing it to two rival gangs.
“We were able to develop quite a bit of information on an ongoing feud amongst two specific gangs,” said Reyes
City Councilmember Grace Garner who represents the North Palm Springs area, briefly spoke on mental health and the loss the community is facing.
“Kids are not okay right now, they’re really struggling with this loss in this time where they can’t actually all be together. it’s really hard and I’m hearing this from not just kids that live in desert highlands but also kids from all over our city who knew these two young men,” explained Garner.
And the investigations aren’t limited to Palm Springs. Palm Springs Police are now working with Cathedral City and Indo Police departments, as well as Riverside County Sheriffs and the DEA.
“This operation today is going to lead us into other directions and we will continue to press forward until we solve these crimes and at the same time find a way to partner with those communities to start addressing this and looking at ways to put an end to this,” added Reyes.
Chief Reyes also says they plan on having community meetings in-person to share what is going on so that parents can help and hear from the community about the impacts these crimes are leaving.
