The police increase their presence downtown for the upcoming weekend.
By Naomi Hofferber
The Iowa City police are preparing for the upcoming weekend after the previous weekend included a Pedestrian Mall shooting incident that left two wounded and one person dead.
Kaleek Asham Douglas Jones, 22, an Iowa City resident, died of gunshot wounds, an Iowa City press release said on Wednesday.
A GoFundMe has been started to provide support to Jones’ family, which include children and a fiancée, siblings, and a mother. As of Thursday evening, the fundraiser has raised almost $2,400.
In response to the incident, and in anticipation of large crowds from numerous events taking place in Iowa City this weekend, the police plan on increasing patrols.
“There’s definitely going to be more of a presence in the downtown this weekend,” said Scott Gaarde, the police public-information officer. “We staff accordingly for the large influx of people in the downtown area.”
Gaarde said the Ped Mall was not a targeted location for the shooting last weekend, it just happened to take place there.
RELATED: One victim dead after Ped Mall shooting
Iowa City has not seen a particular increase in violence over the years. According to the second quarter Crime Trends report by the police, incidences of violent crime, specifically assaults and fights, have fluctuated over the years but have changed little since 2006.
“There have been some high-profile incidents, but overall I think [gun violence] hasn’t changed,” Gaarde said.
He said he hasn’t seen a dramatic rise in gun violence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the state of Iowa to have a relatively low rate of gun violence compared with the national level, with 274 firearm deaths reported in 2015.
Some University of Iowa students are deciding whether to head downtown this weekend because of fear. Others aren’t so worried.
“I feel like I’m safe. I’m never alone by myself, I’m always with a group of friends when heading downtown,” UI junior Katie Markey said. “However, I do think we need to take into consideration what goes down downtown, making sure you make the right decisions and [are] with a group of people.”
UI sophomore Caroline Barlow said she doesn’t expect to go out this weekend.
“I’ve been really jumpy to be honest,” she said. “Not so much on campus but in the Ped Mall area. I walked there this morning, and I was just kind of oversensitive to stuff. I don’t think my friends are going to go out this weekend, because one of my friends saw one of the victims [on the night of the shooting].”
UI freshman Tyler Shanderg said he isn’t concerned.
“I feel pretty safe. During the day it’s fine, and we have Hawk Alerts so we know what’s going on,” he said.
During a press conference early Sunday morning, just four hours after the shooting, Iowa City police Capt. Troy Kelsay said the department will be active in the area in case of a retaliation.
“I’m a police officer and enough of a realist to know that sometimes events like this trigger further events in the future, whether they be next weekend or the weekend after that,” he said at the press conference. “So what you will see is an increased presence by the Iowa City Police Department and the UI Police Department down here to try to prevent that.”
Charlie Peckman and Jordan Prochnow contributed to this story.