South Bend Promises Action Again After Gun Violence Kills Another Teen

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

1 3 minutes read

SOUTH BEND — The South Bend community says it's time for the violence to stop, as they mourn the death of another young person as a result of gun violence.

Alyyus Enoexpettiford, 16, had just finished his junior year at Riley High School and was on summer vacation when police reported he was found suffering from apparent gunshot wounds in the 500 block of East Victoria Street on June 14. Enoexpettiford was taken to hospital. and died from his injuries.

As of June 21, police have not released any suspect names and are continuing to investigate the shooting.

South Bend Common Council President Sharon McBride shared her memories of July 18 by phone with Enoexpettiford, her great-nephew. She described him as a very respectable, loving and kind young man.

“He loved people,” she said. “He was a friendly, positive child and always looking for the best in life.”

Riley's high school principal, Shawn Henderson, reached out to Riley's parents in a letter he posted on social media to offer his thoughts and prayers to Enoexpettiford's friends and family during this difficult time. He encouraged families to have open conversations about their feelings and concerns.

A few days later, on June 17, family, friends and members of the Enoexpettiford community gathered for a vigil in his memory.

Although community activist and retired police officer Lynn Coleman did not know the family personally, he said he attended the vigil out of concern for the young life lost.

“This mess of violence has to stop,” Coleman said. “And it goes on and on.”

Coleman spoke of this “difficult time,” referring to three shooting incidents in South Bend and a shooting on the bypass where SBPD is still determining whether the incident occurred north or south. south of the state line. These incidents left one dead and six injured.

Another shooting in South Bend occurred on June 20 on Parry Street, resulting in the hospitalization of two women due to their injuries and the death of 28-year-old Jasmine Swanson. The condition of the two injured women has not been released. On Friday, June 21, the South Bend Police Department announced that Rya Barnes, 22, was identified as a suspect and arrested Thursday afternoon.

“We must stand up against violence at all levels,” Coleman said.

Despite this influx of recent shootings, SBPD Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski told the Public Safety Council at its June 18 meeting that “it looks like 100 shootings, but it's not.” adding that it is still not good news because the amount is above zero.

The police department released the cumulative number of criminal assault-related shootings, comparing 2024 to 2023.

Criminal Assault Shooting Incidents:

2024 year to date: 22

2023 year to date: 29

Shooting victims criminally assaulted:

2024 Fatal cumulative = 4

2023 Fatal cumulative = 9

2024 Non-fatal: 31

2023 Non-fatal cumulative 33

A call to action

Four days after Enoexpettiford's death, McBride said his family was still grieving.

“It’s still very difficult and shocking,” McBride said. They take it one day at a time, she said.

As president of the South Bend Common Council, McBride said she was trying to resolve this ongoing battle, even before gun violence took one of her loved ones.

“We've been trying to find ways within the community to reduce gun violence,” she said.

For Mychael Winston, director of Goodwill SAVE Outreach, which regularly interacts with the community to develop preventative measures against gun violence, Enoexpettiford's death was different, he said, because it was so tragic.

“Even (for) the most seasoned or experienced professionals, it thrills you,” Winston said. “We try to make sense of things and use strategies, like the GVI strategy, to deal with violence in a specific way, and then you have things like this happens and can throw things into disarray »

He said random acts of violence like this force his team back to the drawing board, but they persist.

They will continue to be active in neighborhoods considered “priority areas,” he said, and will dedicate time to engage the community and continue to be steadfast.

“We see that violence has no age,” Winston said. “It's not like violence is just for 21-24 year olds or 30 and over. It can attack anyone.”

Winston said their call to action against violence was a total community effort.

“Law enforcement is fighting hard,” Winston said. “We understand that. A lot of what law enforcement does has to be reactionary.”

Winston said the police department's community resource officers are proactive and engage with the community, which is great, he said, but he added, “The duty falls on all of us.”

Email Tribune editor Camille Sarabia at [email protected].

Criminal Assault Shooting Incidents:

Shooting victims criminally assaulted:

A call to action

Lina Portman

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