Investigations of shots fired hindered by lack of witnesses

Over the past weekend Cape Girardeau police officers responded to an unusually high number of gunshot reports in the city.

Police responded to seven separate reports of shots fired from Friday evening through Monday morning. Of those responses, one was found to be a resident shooting fireworks. Another had witnesses speak with officers about the incident. No witnesses would speak with police in the remaining five reports, and no evidence or suspects could be located.

Sgt. Joey Hann recognizes most people who report hearing gunshots refrain from speaking with police.

"Once on scene, officers will speak with anyone who is willing to speak with us, but unfortunately, most callers prefer to refrain from contact with an officer," Hann said. "A caller's reluctance to speak with an officer may be due to the late hour that most reports are made as many callers may be in their beds when they hear the shots and they simply do not want to get up, get appropriately dressed and speak with an officer at their doorstep.

"Unfortunately, many callers also fear retaliation for calling the police in their own neighborhoods and they do not want people on their block, or perhaps the suspect themselves, to see them reporting the incident to an officer."

Over the last 12 months, Cape Girardeau police have responded to 108 calls reporting shots fired. Of those reports, 22 involved a caller claiming a victim had been hit by gunfire. On average, Hann said officers respond to two to three calls of shots fired per week.

The police department receives reports of gunshots in all five zones within the city, but in both the northeast or northwest zones, a majority of reports end up being a county resident legally shooting a firearm getting reported by a city resident.

Hann said the department's goal is to remove dangerous offenders from people's neighborhoods and make the streets safer for families, and stressed the importance of keeping an open line of communication in order to achieve it.

"We have several people express anger regarding gunshots in their neighborhood while simultaneously refusing to speak with the police," Hann said. "Unfortunately, we have no way of gathering enough information on many of these reports without actually speaking with a caller. ... We understand how some people can fear retaliation and we empathize with anyone who is fearful in their own neighborhood but we have to have effective communication and a certain level of trust within these communities if we can ever hope to make them safer places for our residents."

Cape Girardeau police investigate every call involving potential gunshots, and consider it a priority call. While on the scene, officers will attempt to make contact with witnesses, but if no caller is available, they will attempt to triangulate the approximate area where the shots had been reportedly fired based on the various locations given in each report.

"This is a very difficult method as some callers offer conflicting information with other callers regarding the location or origin of the gun shots," Hann said. "If officers do have a physical geographical location they can pinpoint, officers will search sidewalks, intersections and parking lots for shell casings or search homes and vehicles for damages due to gun fire. If a specific description of a suspect or a suspect vehicle is offered from a caller, officers will conduct field interviews with suspects or conduct traffic stops if reasonable suspicion can be established to stop a specific vehicle in the area."