Wichita police chief Joe Sullivan said it’s unacceptable that recent violence that has claimed the lives of 15 people in the city.  The chief appeared with community leaders at a news conference Friday to talk about violent incidents that have happened in the past few weeks.

The city had 13 homicide victims for the year as of early June, but since that time, another 15 victims have been added to bring the homicide rate to 28 for the year so far.  Lieutenant Aaron Moses said nearly all of the incidents involved people known to each other.  Six of the incidents involved intimate partners, ten resulted from arguments, one was the result of negligence, five are drug-related, one incident involved a robbery, one involved an abuse case, and four have unknown circumstances.   Most of the cases took place inside a home or business and most involved handguns.

Chief Sullivan said the police department is closely tracking this disturbing rise in violent crime, and he said people who commit violent acts will be held accountable.  He said the community has a role to play, and so many of the incidents have occurred when people get involved in a minor disturbance or argument and they choose a permanent solution to what should be a temporary problem.     He said “What we want is prevention.  We want people to think before they act.  We want people to take responsibility for themselves and their loved ones, and try to de-escalate situations and intervene when you see that happening.  Know where your children are, your family, your friends.   If someone’s having a mental health crisis, reach out and get them help.”

After two people were killed in a shooting at a parking garage in Wichita’s Old Town district, Lieutenant Moses said police would be recommending the installation of barricades to keep vehicles out of the garage after hours.