Charleston shooting incident: Massive gunfire leaves 10 injured amid rising concerns of gun violence

A recent shooting at a party in Charleston that occurred earlier this week left 10 people and three law enforcement officers injured. The entire incident has outraged the neighborhood, unhappy with the turn of events.

It was one of several incidents of mass shootings that were reported in the U.S. over Memorial Day weekend.

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg on Tuesday stated that nearly a dozen people were shot, with four in critical condition.

Trigger Warning: The following video may have disturbing content.

Addressing these concerns, residents living on South Street in downtown Charleston and nearby locals held a press conference. Even the growing block parties have people on edge.

Stephen Bailey, who resides in the Eastside neighborhood of Charleston, mentioned the increase in the number of promotional flyers and videos for large events. Bailey then said he relayed the same to the cops.

"The cops knew all this. The cops knew about all these parties because I told them."

Bailey stated that if there were more regulations and better patrolling the area, these parties would not get out of hand.

Another person who lives two blocks from the shooting said they called the non-emergency number and 911, but it took hours to get a report in.

Speaking about the incident, they said:

"I thought it was fireworks, then after 20 minutes when I spoke to my neighbors, it appeared to be shooting that happened. And I called 911."

The citizen further said:

"All night, I didn’t sleep. And there were a few nights after the noise disturbance, we’ll call the police and we can’t reach them. This is what our lives have become."

Meanwhile, Bailey stated that South Street in Charleston has been a lawless place for a long time and that it was imperative to find the shooters and hold them accountable.

He said,

"We need an independent investigation on what the cops knew about these block parties."

The Charleston Police Department made three arrests on Tuesday, though none were believed to be responsible for the shooting. One of them was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct, while two women were arrested sometime later as fights broke out after the shooting.

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Charleston living in chaos for years

Charleston residents have stressed that the block parties have been growing violent over the years and that these problems aren’t new to the area.

Antonio Coaxum, who lives on Cooper Street, says that he has seen loud crowds that have gotten beyond control over the years and worries for his family. Although there has been no official update on whether it was a gang-related incident, Coaxum admitted to having concerns.

Coaxum said,

"Gang culture comes with the with the movement: a wave you've got to follow, you’ve got a crowd, you get attention. And on the opposite side of that, we have no support for those kids that are trying to do something positive. All it is, is save jobs that will lead you to the permanent underclass."

Officials with the Charleston Police Department say they do not issue permits for parties on residential property because it’s private property. Due to this, there are no regulations or security in place like there would be at a business.

However, officials stated that people are still required to follow the law. If a gathering ends up blocking the right of way, taking their celebrations to the street is too loud, or disrupts the police, it directly violates city laws. The city’s noise ordinance requires that music louder than 70 decibels within 500 feet of housing stop at 11:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, residents of Eastside say that’s not good enough. Along with the noise ordinance being enforced, they want the officials to curb the parties that draw too many people and often grow violent.

As per reports, holiday weekends, especially during the summer in the U.S., have often been associated with spikes in gun violence.