Teen recovering in hospital, homes and vehicles damaged after shots fired in South Bend
SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- A teen girl is recovering after a shots fired incident early Saturday morning in South Bend. Police say there was a party at a house near Four Winds Field on Alonzo Watson Drive, where shots were fired off.
Several people that live near the house on Alonzo Watson Drive talked about how loud and terrifying it was hearing the gunshots, especially for those who have children. Now, residents are concerned about their safety living there.
“I want to move where I know I’m safe," says a resident in the complex, Monique McDonald. "This is not safe.”
Some South Bend residents are feeling unsafe in their own homes after shots were fires on Alonzo Watson Drive during a house party. The shots rang out loud and clear before 1:30 A.M. on Saturday, leaving neighbors scared.
“Me and my youngest child, we were in the living room actually. I was on the phone with one of my friends and I heard the shots, and I was like ‘did you hear that?’ and she was like ‘no’. I kind of like, came to the door, that’s what made me open the door because I’m like, ‘what is going on?’ That’s when it sounded like it was an actual Western outside, it was just like shooting.”
The gunfire struck through multiple homes and cars nearby, even leaving some people hurt by glass after bullets came through their windows. Multiple residents say that with this increase in gun violence, the area is not the place to raise kids.
“To just be out using guns, especially in an unprofane manner, it’s not safe for anybody," says McDonald. "When you have kids, you want to protect them. I don’t want that for my kids or anybody else’s kids. It’s not safe.”
Monique says that in her three years after moving from Chicago and living in her home, this is the first time she's ever heard gunshots like that. Now, she's counting down the days until she can move again.
“I’ve been here three years; when I first got here, I never heard any shots or anything like that. The second year I was here, I probably heard of a couple incidents, but I never heard any shots. Within this year, I’ve been hearing shots," McDonald says. “That’s not what I moved here for.”
The Violent Crimes Unit took over the investigation and is looking into what happened. Residents of the complex say that all of the units will be vacant soon, as the complex will be shutting down within the next six months to one year.