Burlington gun incidents up five-fold and counting over yearly average

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GUN CRIMES UP: With more than four months remaining in 2021, the city of Burlington has already experienced more than five times its yearly average of just two gun incidents a year.

According to data shared by the Burlington Police Department, the latest gun-shooting incident Saturday was the the 11th this year — and more than five times the yearly average.

There are four months left in 2021, and gun crime has begun to soar in the Queen City.

“From 2012 to 2019, the annual average of gunfire incidents was two. In 2020 there were a dozen gunfire incidents,” a BPD release states. “This is the eleventh gunfire incident of 2021.”

Police chief Jon Murad says it’s only a matter of time before an incident results in a fatality.

“So far the drastic increase in gunfire has not resulted in people being shot or killed,” he said. “But that will not last. When guns are fired in crowded cities, people will eventually get hurt. What’s more, people are already being harmed by the sense of uncertainty and diminished safety that accompanies these incidents.”

Murad continued that the community needs to take “collaborative action to turn this around.” He said that he will invite law-enforcement, criminal justice, and neighborhood partners to join their efforts in “addressing the small number of individuals who have recurring involvement in or association with gunfire incidents. … We all need to work together to keep our community safe.”

The latest shooting incident

The latest shooting reported by the Burlington Police Department occurred during the late-night hours on Saturday “in the vicinity of Church Street,” which is the main area that pedestrians visit for commerce and entertainment.

Over much of the summer, the city has been averaging close to a shooting incident or more each week.

Following the 2:35 a.m. gunfire, first callers reported that a male individual had shot a gun and caused others to flee. Officers arrived and took witness accounts as well as physical evidence which matched those statements. No one was injured at the scene.

According to detectives, the early stages of the investigation suggest that the shooter may have pointed the gun at several people seemingly at random. One of these instances is described in the police report.

“At one point three males who appear to be entirely uninvolved bystanders drew the suspect’s attention; the suspect produced the firearm, apparently discharged it in an unknown direction, then racked the slide in a threatening manner and pointed the firearm at the three males,” it states.

Both the victims and the shooter fled the scene, and the shooter reportedly fled in a vehicle with others in the car, according to the BPD.

This latest report says that this alleged shooter may have been involved in prior incidents: “Persons believed to be associated with this incident are also considered persons of interest in prior gunfire incidents and/or are associated with people involved in prior gunfire incidents.”

Multiple break-ins reported Thursday, many more attempts

In addition to the latest shootings, a series of burglaries and attempted burglaries took place during the late hours of Thursday night. In all, the police report contains 11 incidents.

“On August 19, 2021, The Burlington Police Department has received multiple calls from business owners along the 1100 block of North Avenue regarding their businesses being broken into or attempted to be broken into,” it states.

The report continues initial investigations indicated that there was a forced entry into at least one business resulting in stolen property. It says that several other businesses in the Hannaford Plaza observed pry marks on their entryways, which indicates an attempted break-in.

The report continues to highlight 11 break-ins in all that occurred that one night throughout the city, in addition to the failed attempts.

Michael Bielawski is a reporter for True North. Send him news tips at bielawski82@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TrueNorthMikeB.

 

Image courtesy of Public domain

19 thoughts on “Burlington gun incidents up five-fold and counting over yearly average

  1. Responsibility for all of this falls on the Burlington City Council and the Mayor.
    Voters really need to think before they vote. The city council must condone the increased crime- otherwise they would have increased police funding.

    • VT is a machine-politics state not unlike Daley’s Chicago. With students allowed to vote and of course – as our voting-machine debacle has revealed it is likely not the voters casting votes who decide – but the ones counting the votes. I do not believe Pearson won or the Dem senator who lost seat to a Prog running as Dem won either.

  2. Relocating Afghan refugees and contractors was never part of any deal – assuring safety for the allies and contractors in the ME where we have bases is plenty. Contractors working sided by side American soldiers killed them on a sproradic but routine basis. And some worked for *both* sides as merchants:

    “Last week Gov. Phil Scott advised the State Department that Vermont was “ready, willing, and able” to welcome Afghans fleeing Taliban terror to become tomorrow‘s Vermonters. It was a good and noble thing to do to repay these brave people for their support of Americans and civilization in their own country.

    Vermont has long had a deserved reputation for a strong civil society — the network of civic associations that do so much to support and enrich our everyday lives. Now is the time for them to answer Gov. Scott’s call to create a welcoming environment for men and women who risked so much for our country’s support of civilization in theirs.

    Vermont’s State Refugee Office is headed by Scott’s newly appointed director, Tracy Dolan. It’s her job to assist refugees to adapt to life in our state and ultimately become loyal and self-supporting citizens.

    But it’s not enough to set up a government office to deliver services. Director Dolan, backed by the governor, needs to mobilize our institutions of civil society to welcome and assist these Afghan friends of America — refugee priority No.
    1. That would be our churches, fraternal societies, town governments, business and labor groups, charitable organizations, political parties, and especially veteran’s organizations. The American Legion’s national commander. Bill Oxford, has told Legionnaires that “we must not abandon our allies. We must honor the promise we made them.”
    http://www.truenorthreports.com/mcclaughry-afghanistan-collapse-vermont-opportunity

    • Point being, with the defunding of police and growing violence we’re seeing in VT this is a huge mistake. We do not have the resources. Europe who has welcomed refugees had a crime wave of womn and young girls violently raped and killed by mostly Afghan economic migrants. There is enough room in the Middle East for these Middle Eastern Muslims.

      • Hi Stardust,
        Here is another thought.
        I’ve seen a whole lot of tax dollars wasted in overly Gentrifying these cities.. to attract more of their own of course.
        They argued for two years about what kind of sidewalks to put in Keene NH, for the second installation.. the first lovely cobblestones to make Keene look like Portsmouth all fell out in short order.. who knew we had snow over here that needed plowing that they don’t have there on the seacoast? It seems the million dolla study committee brainiacs forgot that detail.
        I bet they do similar things up there in Burlington and now the people can’t even enjoy what they’d paid dearly for because they fear getting shot in the head.
        I think the good people of Burlington deserve a refund on those wasted tax dollars in the form of a giant Lawsuit.
        My two cents from across the riva, afterall, same show different t-shirts.

        • If the third-world & 7th-century population planned replacement of VTers continues apace even those who gentrify selves will feel it.

          Yeah the Burlington cops could take care of this if allowed to use proven tactics. I was once a ‘why didn’t they aim for the foot’ fool untill I watched this yikes!:
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcoWQ6KuPn4

    • I don’t agree with that article, who is that an opportunity for? that is the question.
      Is it an opportunity for the poor Vermonter trying to get by that can barely pay the taxes? I really doubt it. Lets ask all the wealthy people in Vermont how many they plan on housing, supporting and giving an electric car too.
      Like Donald Trump said “Folks, the are not sending their best!”
      If these Afghans were so good then they would keep them.
      And this is the same with the Southern Border Invasion that we all pretend isn’t happening.

        • I have no confidence this completely corrupt and totally incapable administration will pay any attention to a court – especially the Supreme Court.

  3. Defunding the police… what would you expect. Now they want the national guards help??? Refund your police department.

  4. As acknowledged by other commenters, there is a clear statistical component regarding the distinct outward appearance of the perpetrators of the gun violence, that makes them stand out very disproportionately from the Vermont population in general. This component of their appearance can make it very useful as a description when the perp has not been apprehended and is being sought with the help of the public, but is typically purposely ignored by Vermont’s mainstream media and most public officials. This is a serious public safety problem that is allowed to exist simply in the interest of political correctness. No one wants to admit that there is a stark, statistically supported and disproportionate tie between the perpetrators of these violent incidents. It is a very odd phenomenon when humans act in a manner that places them and others around them at extreme risk, yet we pretend the danger does not exist, because that would burst the bubble of those who “celebrate diversity”. Let’s be very clear: urban, downcountry, ethnic gang violence is infiltrating Vermont, and no good can come from that, yet the leftists refuse to acknowledge the source of the problem. Those with the power to do something about it have tied the hands of the police and the State’s Attorney, being an elected official is already on board with their agenda of denial. This is the new leftist normal. Elections have consequences.

  5. I guess the local media and the woke cult have forgotten or were never taught that when a witness is asked for a description of the person or people involved, skin color and all other pertinent information of the the person or persons is critical to the identity of the suspects. In Vermont, if the description involves a person of color, some how it becomes racist. Any seasoned investigator is trained to get as much information as possible. A physical description, the color or complexion and the gender is the beginning of what to look for. This also protects innocent people who may get caught up in the chaos. The knee jerk responses to these incidents is indicative of the lack of critical thinking and a failure of the educational system of America. Crimes are crimes no matter who’s involved or what color they are.

    Serious crimes of violence are solved by good information and witnesses who can accurately describe in detail: the who, what, where, when, and why are the most important aspect of finding dangerous criminals who walk among us. Anyone who has been a victim of a crime is not interested in some artificial race barrier to protect people who hurt others with their uncivil crimes and violence, Justice is supposed to be color blind, let’s keep it that way!

      • The skin color of the perps and other missing data is not mentioned because the progressive liberals who run Burlington would consider it racist…

    • What happened to mugshots – or is VT media complicit in hiding the truth that it is gang-on-gang violence which has immigrated to VT. And reports of criminal records – or has complete data and factual info now become quaint

      • I live in a small town sandwiched and surrounded by depressed areas and even they don’t want to come here lol but Latinos working the farms lured by brokers sending them to sponsors to be exploited are.

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