BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Burlington Police say there have now been a dozen gunfire incidents so far this year, the most recent injuring a bystander at Roosevelt Park last weekend. The mayor, police chief, and county prosecutor Thursday came together to demonstrate that the city is united in addressing the problem.
“This is unacceptable,” said Burlington Police Acting Chief Jon Murad, addressing the rise in gun violence in the Queen City.
According to the department, since 2020 there have been 38 incidents involving gunfire. Murad says in 30 of those incidents, police have identified people involved, leading to arrests. “Of those 30, 17 are associated with a recurring group of people. As victims, as trigger pullers, or people that are on the scene of police intervention or arrival,” he said.
Murad says those in that recurring group are from the Burlington area and are predominately young, but he said he wouldn’t describe them as a “gang.”
Both Murad and Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger pointed to the depleted ranks of the police department, stemming from a city council vote two years ago. Weinberger said one of the keys to combatting gun violence is adding to the current effective headcount of 60 officers. “To rebuild the department to the ranks, to the now authorized headcount of 87, we need the City Council to approve and demonstrate their full support for the rebuilding plan that I will be submitting in my FY ‘23 budget, that I will be submitting to the council next week,” he said.
Murad and Weinberger say Burlington is not immune from the trends of gun violence on display nationwide. When asked about the spike in gun incidents so far this year, Murad called it “the million-dollar question.” “What is it? I don’t know. It is a Brownian movement of molecules bumping up against each other and getting each other hot and the next thing you know, they go for a gun. Why? We need to make it unacceptable in this community — for that to be an answer — and we also need to make certain that it is not only unacceptable but it is accountable,” Murad said.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George says the strain of the pandemic, a rise in poverty, and housing insecurity are all factors in the rise in violence. She says her office is committed to prosecuting the people responsible to the fullest extent. “Keeping our community safe is a top priority for me and if someone does commit a serious violent crime and we do have the evidence that we need, they will be held accountable,” she said.
George and Murad agreed they need to work to regain the public’s trust in the criminal justice system in order to get citizens to provide critical information in these investigations. Officials also called on state and federal lawmakers to institute common-sense gun laws to keep guns away from people who should not have them.
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