Tulsa officials are looking to update city code following a rash of shootings. Efforts will be particularly focused in the downtown area.
Since Thursday, the city has seen four shootings involving youth:
- Four juveniles were injured early June 19 at Crybaby Hill when a shooting reportedly happened after two gatherings.
- A 14-year-old was shot early June 20 at a hotel in the 500 block of East 32nd Street North. Witnesses told police a van drove by and started shooting.
- Seven people, mostly 17 and 18, were injured either by gunfire or while fleeing the scene of a shooting early June 21 outside a warehouse party near 122nd East Avenue and Admiral Boulevard.
- A 22-year-old man was killed and seven others injured June 21 at the Juneteenth festival on Greenwood Avenue. Victims ranged from 17 to an elderly woman.
Police say some of the shootings are connected and gang-related. Tulsa Police Chief Dennis Larsen said Tulsa police will likely conclude the investigations into the four shootings over the next couple of weeks.
In response to the violence, Mayor Monroe Nichols announced Monday afternoon that city council is looking to pass a 9 p.m. curfew for people 17 and younger in the city’s Inner Dispersal Loop.
“What I would tell the youth is is that we’re going to do everything we can to protect them. We’re going to continue to do that, and some of them may feel frustrated with those ways in which we feel it’s appropriate to protect them. But we do want to make sure that no matter where they are, as they move about town in the city of Tulsa, that they feel safe, they feel protected."
The curfew will be discussed by city council Wednesday and voted on at its regular 5 p.m. meeting. It would have a sunset date of March 31, which means councilors will revisit the matter.
At the news conference, Larsen also announced the creation of a task force to curb violent crime. The task force will contain members of the police department’s street crimes units, special investigations, crime analysis and forensics.
“They will work in close cooperation with our state and federal partners, along with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, the Tulsa County District Attorney, and the U.S. Attorney,” Larsen said, later adding that this task force will not impact citywide patrol numbers.
Larsen also said TPD will enhance its presence at large gatherings.
