Alton Father shares the son's close call

Alton – A man who said that his son was shot on Wednesday evening when one or more people opened a fire to a student who left a school bus in Alton, the incident was the youngest in a current series of shootings in the area near the intersection of the Central Avenue and the Royal Street.

Jeff Sherwood said his son, who was not the goal of the shooters, just went out of the door to make a jogging and stopped to check the mailbox when the shootout took place. Sherwood said that his son's stop had kept him away from the fire line and he might have held away from being shot or killed.

He also said a neighbor was in her house when a ball went through, and the neighbor said she could hear it when it came over.

“It is as if they have no consideration, they don't take care of it,” said Sherwood about the shooters on Thursday. “It is a step of out of control.”

The incident occurred on Wednesday at around 6.42 p.m. in the 1200 block of the Central Avenue. Sherwood announced a video of his Nest monitoring camera, in which about 15 shots were fired in about four seconds.

On Thursday afternoon, Mayor David Goins condemned the recent shootings in this area.

“I am horrified and shocked by the senseless shootings that recently took place in the 1200 block of the Central Avenue,” he said. “Incidents that have put life to innocent people in danger.”

Although nobody was gratefully injured or killed, he said that this type of violence cannot be tolerated.

“These incidents are not random acts of violence,” said Goins. “They show a disturbing trend that undermines the security we appreciate in Alton.”

According to the police, a school bus in Alton let off the students of the night school in the area when “several people” shoot towards one of the buses in the direction of one of the buses.

According to a police statement, it was “clear” that a specific person was targeted.

Neither the bus nor the student were hit. The police said that the bus driver quickly drove to a safe place and followed the safety protocols.

While nobody was injured on Wednesday, there were reports of several almost misses. The incident is examined and the Alton's police asked the residents to send them a security video of the incident.

“I started a few shots,” said Jeff Sherwood. “I was at the door and knew that my son was outside, so I ran out of the front door and the child was still shot.”

Sherwood said that the shooter he saw had fired “several shots”.

He said this incident was the latest in a number of shootings that return until August or September and affect a house in the neighborhood. Sherwood said people with weapons come from Alton's district Mexico, which is located on the east side of the Central Avenue.

“They come through the forest and shoot them normally. They do that regularly, ”said Sherwood. “Every house here has ball holes except mine.”

Sherwood described most of the incidents as “pop shots” and said that the inhabitants of the targeted house would sometimes return the fire.

“Everyone has to be more involved,” added Sherwood. “People don't have to go out on the street like me, but they have to call the police and say what they know. I understand that there is a type of mentality, but some of these boys will be dead and their mothers will cry. You could do something now instead of just pretending to know what's going on. “

Mayor Goins asked the Alton community to bring together against violence and asked everyone to contact the police authority with information about the incidents.

On Thursday morning, Alton's police department asked the residents to check their video surveillance systems for suspicious activities immediately before and after the incident. Videos can be uploaded directly at the following link: https://cityprotect.com/digital-evidence/altonpolice.com?id=2B860108-4443-bbf3-3b255014B47A.

On Thursday afternoon, the Alton Police Department had no additional information on publication.