Over the past 30 days, Plano Police have seen an uptick in violent crime.
“We’ve had a total of five [violent crimes] within that time frame,” said Officer David Tilley"
It’s a statistic that has police concerned, especially after being recognized as America’s Safest City by Forbes Magazine last week.
After several homes in a neighborhood off East Parker Road were sprayed with bullets in late November, police saw a few other cases of vandalism.
In those other cases, detectives found shell casings, but no injuries were reported.
However, 24-year-old Jessica Velasquez of Plano died on the city’s east side, after a triple shooting last week.
Then, police say, in the early morning hours this past Sunday, a 16-year-old female and 19-year-old male both sustained nonthreatening gunshot wounds near the area of Stadium Drive and West Spring Creek Parkway.
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Tilley says the shootings appear to be isolated incidents.
“It’s abnormal, and it’s concerning,” he said.
He emphasizes, however, that none of the incidences of violent crime appear to correspond to gang activity.
Much like the overall trend across the nation, Tilley says violent crime in Plano is trending lower, citing a decrease between 2010 and 2011.
“Our violent crime has been low and we want to continue to keep it low,” he said.
