VALLEJO PD CALLS FOR MORE CAMERAS AFTER TWO SHOOTINGS IN A TWO-HOUR PERIOD, LEAVING ONE DECEASED
8-year-old Among 3 People Victimized by Gun Violence 
VALLEJO - The Vallejo Police Department is doubling down on its efforts to keep our city safe following two shootings in a two-hour time span - including one that injured an 8-year-old child. 

“Everyone in our community should feel outraged that an innocent child’s life has been shattered by needless gun violence,” said Chief of Police Shawny Williams. “It’s important that our entire community join us in this effort to send a message to criminals that their actions will not be tolerated in our city.”

On Wednesday, June 30, 2021 just before 9:00 p.m., officers responded to a shooting in the 100 block of Violet Drive. Upon arrival, officers found a 32-year-old male and Vallejo resident suffering from at least one gunshot wound. The male victim was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.

The victim's identity is being withheld pending next of kin notification by the Solano County Coroner's Office. Anyone with information in this case is asked to contact Detective Josh Caitham at 707-648-4332 or Detective Brian Murphy at 707 648-5430. 

This is the City of Vallejo’s 5th homicide in 2021.

Later in the evening on June 30, 2021 around 10:45 p.m., officers responded to another shooting in the 800 block of Sonoma Boulevard. Officers found that a 30-year-old woman and an 8-year-old girl had been shot in a vehicle. Both were transported to local hospitals for treatment of life-threatening injuries. The woman remains in critical condition, while the child is now listed in stable condition. 

Anyone with information in this case is asked to contact Detective Joel Caitham at 707-648-4280 or Detective Wesley Pittman at 707-648-5426. 

For media inquiries, please contact Public Information Officer, Brittany K. Jackson by email at VallejoPolicePIO@cityofvallejo.net. or by phone at (707) 651-7147.
SAFE SUMMER VALLEJO AND SMART CITY INITIATIVE
Reinforcing Operation PEACE and Calling Upon Federal Resources for Help
We want to keep Vallejo safe from gun violence this summer. Achieving this will require a collective effort that includes reinforcing the mission of Operation PEACE to garnering support from stakeholders and educating the community about the use of ALPR technology to protect our citizens.

“The Operation PEACE initiative launched last year has proven to be an effective, multi-pronged approach to combating violent crime. It’s time to step up our efforts even more,” said Chief Williams. “ALPR cameras could lead us to a violent criminal, help us make an arrest, give the victim’s loved ones closure, and give our community a peace of mind knowing arrests have been made.” 

Through Operation PEACE, Vallejo PD partners its efforts with law enforcement agencies on the federal, state, and local level to focus enforcement on specific issues such as predictive enforcement and engagement with our community leaders.

Not only will Vallejo PD continue its efforts with partners (U.S. Attorney California Eastern District, CHP, Solano County DA’ Office, FBI, ATF and more), the Department is also turning to Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology to provide another tool to our peace officers who are fighting crime. 

"We must provide our officers and our community members with the tools to identify individuals who don’t value human life," Chief Williams stated. "We cannot be everywhere at once, but technology will help us work smarter. Our Smart City Initiative, that utilizes ALPR and CCTV technology, will empower our officers, community partners and city employees to identify and hopefully stop prolific offenders before they commit their next crime."

ALPR cameras are currently installed in various parts of the city and capture the license plate numbers of people driving in the area. Those images are stored for 30 days. The program does not use facial recognition, nor are the license plate numbers shared with a third party. The ALPR technology, which may also be privatized by property and business owners, has already aided in leads for homicide investigations, stolen vehicle and gun recoveries, burglaries and a range of other crimes. If a license plate number matches that of a vehicle wanted in a crime, an alert is sent to the police department.

Overall, we want to reassure the Vallejo community that we are doing all we can to address violent crime, draw additional resources and bring justice to families impacted by senseless gun violence. We must also continue to make trauma-informed care services and resources in the City of Vallejo a priority to address the multi-disciplinary factors surrounding crime and its unruly grip on members of our community.

For media inquiries, please contact Public Information Officer, Brittany K. Jackson by email at VallejoPolicePIO@cityofvallejo.net. or by phone at (707) 651-7147.