CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Residents of Charleston’s West Side apartment complex have had enough of the violence in their neighborhood, and they are calling on Charleston leaders to address the matter.
Around a dozen of residents of the Jarrett Terrace — which is under Charleston-Kanawha Housing — gathered along Central Avenue on Monday with signs and chants.
The terrace sits along Central Avenue and right across the street from where Capital High School student K.J. Taylor was shot and killed in April. The building is also just a couple blocks away from a fatal shooting that occurred on Oct. 8 in which two 22-year old Charleston women died.
Charleston Police Chief of Detectives Lt. Tony Hazelett said 21-year-old Marquis Jermayne Goodman of Michigan shot and killed Bria Nicole White and Kytiana Belcher.
“We are sick and tired of people killing our kids. We’ve had shootings, stabbings, sexual assaults in a two-block radius of us,” Pamela Harper, President of Resident Council at Jarrett Terrace told 580 WCHS-AM.
Authorities reported that the apartment complex was struck by gunfire on July 5 and a woman was stabbed on Sept. 25 in an apartment in the 800 block of Central Avenue.
One of the requests from the residents was an increased police presence from the Charleston Police Department. 580 WCHS-AM reached out to the City of Charleston for a statement Monday but did not receive a response.
“If they are around, if they come by once every three or four hours, it would cut down on a lot of crap,” Harper said of city police.
Karen Garrett, a resident of Jarrett Terrace told 580 WCHS-AM it is not even safe enough to have her family visit her.
“My grandkids or anything cannot come over here because of what is going on in the neighborhood. There are shootings, stabbings. It’s getting too out of control,” Garrett said.
Harper said they will protest until something is done.
“We’ve called people, begged and pleaded with people. The more people that see us, the more people that know about it, and maybe they’ll actually do something,” she said.
Charleston City Councilmember Deanna McKinney, who represents the West Side, criticized the lack of action during Monday’s city council meeting.
“Just about every other night, we hear gunshots and get no emails, no phone calls, no meetings, no CDC, nothing from nobody, either side,” she said. “What part of the mission am I missing? What about us?”
McKinney said city leaders are not doing enough to address gun violence as well as issues impacting Black communities.
“Everyone wants to help us, but we’re out here dying and mourning alone with no help or resources to help ourselves,” she said. “We are met with and spoken to, but still being ignored. Promises are constantly being made toward us, but none of them have been kept.”
McKinney’s son, Tymel, died in April 2014 after being shot in front of their home.