KILLEEN, Texas — On March 24, two people were shot and killed on Brook Drive in Killeen. When talking to neighbors, 6 News was told the same thing we’ve heard many times before.
“Me and my mom heard the gunshots, but we thought it was on the other streets like always,” Sharmon Venable said. “It’s very concerning because you never know where these bullets are going to go. They don’t have any names on them, you know?”
But why are there “always” gunshots in Killeen? And exactly how often is “always” when you break it down? Thanks to the LexisNexis Community Crime Map, and a follow-up interview with the Killeen Police Department, 6 News now has an answer.
According to the community crime map, there were 14 records for “discharge firearm toward habituation, building, person” in just the month of January this year in Killeen. These are instances where a gun was fired at home or at another particular target. Note that these records would not include shots simply fired in the air. They also do not include shots that hit a person, as those would be classified as an assault.
The data from January was enough to say bullets are fired at a home, building or person every two days in Killeen during that month. When 6 News spoke to the Killeen Police Department in April, we found out the average was not that far off.
“We have a drive-by probably once out of every three days if you want to average it out,” Sgt. Neal Holtzclaw said.
Who’s behind the gun?
6 News sat down with Sgt. Neal Holtzclaw and Sgt. Garlen Hennig at Killeen PD Headquarters in April to better understand why these shootings are happening.
Holtzclaw said the majority of the shootings are connected to local “hybrid” gangs that operate in the City of Killeen. Holtzclaw told 6 News the gangs have a loose organizational structure and are based around territory more than allegiance. The organizations often don’t have a specific leader and some individuals can be part of multiple different gangs. He said gang members often range in ages between 14 and 22 years old and the gangs are normally very local. Holtzclaw said he has seen “20 different names used for 20 different groups."
“These typically are people involved in a high-risk lifestyle. A lot of narcotic transactions and a lot of gang activity,” Holtzclaw said. “Usually they live in the same area, they went to the same high school, their brothers or sisters are part of it, and they get together and call themselves a name.”
Holtzclaw said the groups start learning how to buy and sell drugs and get into more trouble from there. He said the drive-by shootings would often happen over a territorial dispute over drugs or after one gang simply disrespected another in some way. Sometimes the violence can start over one group simply insulting another group's song posted on social media.
“Somebody will bash somebody on social media about a song that they put out. It makes the opposing gang members upset. Then they will respond with some sort of drive-by shooting,” Holtzclaw said. “Unfortunately egos get in the way and the simplest disrespect will cause somebody to lash out in violence.”
Killeen PD said that initial shootings sparked a back-and-forth conflict with both sides doing drive-by shootings on known associates of the other gang. The attacks are often meant to “send a message” but Holtzclaw said they can result in the same home being attacked multiple times in just a few days.
No one wants to “snitch”
Despite the frequency of these shooting incidents, Holtzclaw and Hennig both said the crimes are normally very difficult to prosecute because the victims refuse to cooperate with the police. Police said there seems to be an unwritten “street code” where no one wants to be a “snitch” in any situation. Even after the bullets start flying, it’s not acceptable for one gang to “snitch” to get the other gang out of the way.
“A lot of times, it's victim cooperation that can make or break a case as far as prosecution. That’s where the frustration comes in,” Holtzclaw said. “You have a shooting, you know who is doing the shooting, but you have no cooperation from the victim. It makes it challenging to prosecute that case…No one will talk to police -- even if it’s about a rival gang, even if it will get a rival gang member off the street. ”
No gun control
6 News also asked the Killeen Police Department if there was a way to keep criminals from getting guns in the city. Both sergeants told 6 News it’s difficult to track guns in Texas because private gun owners can sell firearms to another citizen without notifying the state.
Police also said, even if it was possible to track guns, the City of Killeen had a much bigger issue with criminals getting guns already. Gun theft, they said, is a massive problem.
“A felon can’t go buy a gun right? So they would have to get that gun through some illegal means,” Hennig said. “Last year we had over 130 thefts of a firearm (in Killeen). Not all of those are from a car but the majority are.”
This means, on average, a gun was stolen in the City of Killeen every three days in 2021. The department said there have already been 42 firearms stolen in 2022, which puts them on a similar trajectory.
The department constantly posts messages on its Facebook page asking people to lock cars and secure valuables such as weapons to try and keep this from happening.
The Killeen Police Department also takes guns off the street every day. The community crime map shows dozens of records where police took guns away from convicted felons and other individuals who possess them illegally.
When 6 News asked Holtzclaw exactly how many guns the department collects, he said it’s easily 40 guns a month.
Looking for a solution
To respond to these hybrid gangs, the Killeen Police Department put together their Violent Crime Action Team last year. The team consists of four members and a supervisor and can be supported by other patrol officers or Criminal Investigation Division staff. The Killeen Police Department will focus this team on a certain area of the city to “tighten the net” of assets in that area and try to produce leads on the people responsible for the violence.
While there could always be more assets in the field, Hennig said they absolutely need Killeen’s citizens to step up and report shootings, or provide tips, to help them get the violence under control. Getting citizens to lock their vehicles remains an important second objective.
“We need the community's help. Nobody wants to say anything if they’ve seen anything. That is a big thing that can help us. Securing weapons so that they are not accessible to people who want to do violence -- that is helpful," they said.
As always, the community can provide tips anonymously at bellcountycrimestoppers.com.