It was another violent weekend in York and once again, the crimes centered around a stretch of Route 30 known as Loucks Road.
We talked to York City’s Police Chief Monday about this recent increase in violence. He says it's a problem they are dealing with, and what they really need is cooperation from business owners.
The latest Route 30 violence ended with 21-year-old Juan Bonilla Junior shot and killed in a parking lot outside the Veteran’s Political Association.
It's the fourth shooting on this stretch of road in three months, and the second deadly one.
York City Police Chief Wes Kahley says they are doing what they can to control the violence, but a lot of it has to do with business owners.
“Some of it is the result of our enforcement effort at other places and unfortunately when you find business owners willing to allow loitering violence, groups will gravitate to that area,” Kahley told us.
All of the shootings have happened in the early morning hours. Kahley describes the crowd as largely late-night drinkers who know where to go after the bars close to keep the party going.
“Unfortunately when we try and enforce trespassing in a parking lot like Momo’s and the owners say ‘hey my patrons, don't move them along” it's harder for us to deal with that situation,” Kahley added.
In October, a taxi driver fired shots after he was robbed in the Momo’s parking lot. Last weekend a Harrisburg man was shot and killed there.
Kahley says the city can take steps to shut Momo’s down, but it wouldn't be immediate.
Bonilla was killed around 230 Saturday morning in a parking lot fight down the street at the VPA. The fight involved several gunshots and required police to fire in self-defense when they showed up.
Kahley doesn't want the off hours violence to impact the Route 30 corridor anymore than it already has,
“The one thing people should understand is that this is happening with the late night crowd, between two and four in the morning, drinking,” explained Kahley. “It's not something happening during regular hours. We don’t want people to fear traveling through that small section of area.”
We talked to York City’s Police Chief Monday about this recent increase in violence. He says it's a problem they are dealing with, and what they really need is cooperation from business owners.
The latest Route 30 violence ended with 21-year-old Juan Bonilla Junior shot and killed in a parking lot outside the Veteran’s Political Association.
It's the fourth shooting on this stretch of road in three months, and the second deadly one.
York City Police Chief Wes Kahley says they are doing what they can to control the violence, but a lot of it has to do with business owners.
“Some of it is the result of our enforcement effort at other places and unfortunately when you find business owners willing to allow loitering violence, groups will gravitate to that area,” Kahley told us.
All of the shootings have happened in the early morning hours. Kahley describes the crowd as largely late-night drinkers who know where to go after the bars close to keep the party going.
“Unfortunately when we try and enforce trespassing in a parking lot like Momo’s and the owners say ‘hey my patrons, don't move them along” it's harder for us to deal with that situation,” Kahley added.
In October, a taxi driver fired shots after he was robbed in the Momo’s parking lot. Last weekend a Harrisburg man was shot and killed there.
Kahley says the city can take steps to shut Momo’s down, but it wouldn't be immediate.
Bonilla was killed around 230 Saturday morning in a parking lot fight down the street at the VPA. The fight involved several gunshots and required police to fire in self-defense when they showed up.
Kahley doesn't want the off hours violence to impact the Route 30 corridor anymore than it already has,
“The one thing people should understand is that this is happening with the late night crowd, between two and four in the morning, drinking,” explained Kahley. “It's not something happening during regular hours. We don’t want people to fear traveling through that small section of area.”