Antioch mayor wants more police after violent weekend

ANTIOCH, Calif. - Antioch's mayor is calling for a bigger police presence following several shootings over the weekend.

In a statement on Sunday, Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe is considering requesting help from law enforcement agencies in nearby cities. 

In one of those shootings on Sunday morning, a homeless man and his mother were wounded when they were shot in the parking lot outside a Rite Aid drug store at A and East 18th streets.

The man was critically wounded, and the woman suffered minor injuries.

"I hear the screaming, and when I look, I see the mother. She’s screaming, she’s bleeding," said a woman who wished only to be identified as Apraill.

Apraille is also the godmother of Elijah Scales, whose shooting death earlier this month near a strip mall at L Street and Sycamore Drive a mile west has led to a series of shootings in that same neighborhood.

"Please just stop the violence because these bullets don’t have no names on them," Apraill said. "And anybody can be in danger when you release these unnecessary bullets."

"Our role in the faith community is to be spiritual leaders," said Vickia Brinkley, a pastor at a church across the street from the Rite Aid. She says it’ll take a concerted effort to put a stop to the violence.

"Certainly we pray, but it’s also prayer that’s coupled with action and being partners with the mayor, the Police department, with our community leaders as well as people who live in the area," Brinkley said.

The night before, police responded to the strip mall after shots were fired.

No one was hit, but bullet holes were found at several businesses.

Last week, KTVU talked to a pregnant mother of two, after a bullet pierced the wall of her home at 4:30 p.m.

In that shooting, a man was shot and critically wounded.

Antioch police say they have responded to about a dozen shootings just since Labor Day.

Investigators believe some of the shootings appear to be related.

"We have officers out there just about on a daily basis," Antioch police Lt. Desmond Bittner said of the strip mall.

He said detectives are working diligently to find those responsible for the recent shootings.

"This isn’t going to be tolerated," Bittner said. "Everybody deserves to live in a same community. We always want to keep things as safe as possible."

Mike Barbanica is an Antioch city councilmember and retired Pittsburg police officer who is running for the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.

"I can assure the public that absolutely things are being done by the police department," Barbanica said. "Let the police department come out with the facts on what is related, what is causing them. Often, when you have these cases, you don’t know the motive right away. It may take some time to establish what the motive is."

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan