RACINE – Six people were injured following a shooting that happened Sunday night near Yout and Carter street.
Officers with the Racine Police Department were called at 9:12 p.m. to a report of people being loud and driving recklessly in the area. When they arrived, several people jumped a fence and started shooting, according to a press release by the Racine Police Department.
DeAndre Henley, 20, one of the people shot, said he didn’t know the shooters. The group had gathered to remember Marcus Caldwell Jr., a 20-year-old man shot a year ago in the 1200 block of Yout St. No one had argued before the shooting. They were hanging out when he saw a red laser beam.
“I was standing on the sidewalk. I turned around and got shot,” Henley said.
Bullets hit Henley in the arm and the back. He ran to the officers for help, but they took cover behind their cars as shots continued to ring out. Several people from the party drove Henley to the hospital for his non-life-threatening injuries.
Several officers helped the other gunshot victims, according to the RPD press release.
Shooting victim’s mother angered, worried about her son
Henley’s mother, Jaywanna Thomas, is angry with the officers for not helping her son during the shooting. When she asked about it, they told her they had to protect themselves during the shooting. But they understood that what happened to her son was horrible.
Three of the six victims were taken by the Racine Fire Department to Ascension-All Saints Hospital.
“When my son got shot, he went up to the police car,” Thomas said. “He told them that he got shot and the police hid. So he went to tell another police officer and told them he got shot. And the police hid and ran. They told the other people to go hide, so they don’t get shot at.”
Thomas is concerned about the shooters’ reckless disregard for human life and the ability of police to protect people during shootings.
“Y’all can’t protect these people out here,” I said, “Now you all got something to worry about. You got to work on yourself now because they’re shooting right in front of the police’ face. It’s like they (the shooters) took over the town.”
Jaywanna Thomas, mother of shooting victim.
Witnesses told Thomas that the shootings might be gang-related. Henley is not part of a gang. But she’s worried about how it might impact her son’s reputation.
“This is just unbearable. I can’t trust the police anymore. I felt comfortable just being in my own home and going out there in the streets but not now,” she said. “I got a son that works. He doesn’t know anybody. Nowadays, though, they look at it like this, if you’ve been shot, somebody’s going to get shot again.”
Shooting investigation underway
This is an ongoing investigation. Racine Police investigators are interested in any additional information that anyone may have about this incident. Any witnesses, or citizens with information, are urged to call the Racine Police Department Investigations Unit at (262) 635-7756.
Those who wish to remain anonymous may contact Crime Stoppers by phone at (262) 636-9330 or through the Crime Stoppers app by using the p3 app.