CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – Charleston’s police chief and mayor voiced their frustrations Friday after a pair of shootings Aug. 26 that happened with in just a few hours span, one of which is now a homicide investigation.
The first shooting happened on Russell Street, and the victim is recovering after a gunshot wound to the leg, but witnesses are not cooperating with authorities. Charleston Police say they were originally called for a drive-by-shooting, but they found no evidence of that. Now they are investigating the possibility of an accidental discharge.
The second shooting happened just after 2:30 p.m. on Frame Street. The victim in that shooting has died. Few details into the shooting have been released other than to call it a homicide.
Early Friday evening, Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin held a news conference. She is furious about the situation and calling out the legal system.
“It’s consistent and it’s insane the shootings that happened today, this community is sick of it, I’m sick of it, the police officers are sick of it, you know how maddening it is to arrest the same people over, and over and over again? “
The mayor said on the steps of Charleston City Hall that the ink isn’t even dry on the police department’s paperwork before the same people arrested are back on the streets.
“How is that okay, how is that okay? What needs to happen is the judicial system, the judges, the prosecutors, the prisons, the people that are putting these violent criminals back on the streets of Charleston they need to be held accountable our guys are doing their job.”
Mayor Goodwin says that the Charleston Police Department’s solve rate is well above the national average of 50 percent, at 90%.
So with those calls for changes in the judicial system, WOWK 13 News is working to get a response from those who deal with those issues. We do know the jails at this time are overcrowded and dealing with staffing issues. West Virginia’s National Guard is now helping out at the facilities across the state.
