One person was killed and five people were wounded after a shooting in the district of Rock Island this morning. Authorities say a fight broke out at 18th Street and 2nd Avenue just after 2:00 am.
A 43 year old man was killed while the men who were injured were between 22 and 42 years of age. Local Four spoke to a business owner who has been in the district for 15 years.
Kay Schneider is the owner of SK Models and one of their windows was damaged last night. Schneider says she isn’t concerned that incidents will continue to happen and she wants people to know that the district is a safe place to be.
“We’ve never had an incident in all the years that we’ve been down there. It’s been a great place to be. I know that it’s an isolated incident and that it’s a very safe place to come. I feel like you know it’s a wonderful place to come and have the opportunity to go to art galleries during the day and have a little lunch.”
SK Models wasn’t open when the shooting happened, which Schneider is grateful about because the first thing on her mind would have been the safety of her employees. Increased security measures are a priority right now in the district. After an incident last month where a car rammed into several squads and almost ran over several people, the city closed 18th Street and added fencing around the bars. after these incidents there is one goal that Mayor Mike Thoms wants to work towards.
“We’re going to continue to show that we have a vibrant downtown, businesses that can survive, people that can have fun down there, and do it safely.”
For the safety of the public, the district will have a 12 am curfew tonight. The Rock Island Police Department is deploying all available resources to catch the criminals and Police Chief Jeff VenHuizen has a message for the gunman.
“We’re coming. It’s their choice on how they want this to end. I’m asking and appealing to them that they make this easy on themselves and their family.”
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