Police: Gang violence to blame for overnight shooting

CEDAR RAPIDS —  A violent rivalry between teens and young adults entangled a 32-year-old woman early Thursday when a bullet from an apparent drive-by shooting outside struck and injured her inside a home, authorities said.

'We are confident in saying this is yet another incident that is directly related to the rival shootings that have been occurring in the city during this year and the end of last year,' said police Chief Wayne Jerman.

Investigators do not yet know what sparked Thursday's shooting, but Jerman said police have identified four gangs in the city.

The groups appear to be homegrown and made up of local youths ranging from 12 years old to their early 20s.

'We know a lot of the members of these groups,' Jerman said. 'We know where they live. We know who they associate with. What is not known is what is making them choose to use deadly force against each other.'

At 12:26 a.m. Thursday, police responded to a report of shots fired in the 300 block of 17th Street SE. A woman was taken to the hospital with what authorities described as a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the lower body.

Public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said that shortly after the shooting, a 16-year-old showed up at a Cedar Rapids hospital with a gunshot wound. Police are investigating whether the two victims are related to the same shooting. He said there were no other shootings reported around that time.

Jerman said the shooting on 17th Street still is under investigation, so he can't discuss many of the details. The shooting appeared to be a drive-by and police are confident there was more than one person in the suspect vehicle. Jerman did not have descriptions of the suspect or the vehicle.

'We are working with her and her family to try to determine who shot her,' he said.

While police believe the shooting to be related to the ongoing rivalry, Jerman said they are investigating just how the victim is linked to that dispute.

Jerman said police always are concerned with retaliation following a shooting and Thursday's incident is no exception. Using the knowledge they have on the rival gangs, Jerman said, police are looking to contact youths in the factions in an effort to mitigate the chances of further violence.

Police presence has been increased in areas of the city as well.

'The actions and activity they're engaging in is obviously illegal, obviously violent and obviously something that needs to stop,' he said. 'We're looking at it from all aspects, including gang intervention strategies.'

Jerman said the youths are getting guns 'from a number of means.'

'They're stealing them out of cars, they're stealing them out of homes,' he said. 'They are also acquiring them from other friends and associates and they're doing so quite easily.'

Jerman said the mission of the Safe, Equitable and Thriving Communities Task Force — formed in response to gun violence in the city — is to get to the root of why these children and young adults are resorting to violence.

SET task force member and former Cedar Rapids City Council member Dale Todd lives two blocks from where the shooting occurred, which is across the street from the Johnson STEAM Academy.

'This type of activity cannot be tolerated in the neighborhoods,' Todd said.

Todd said he is concerned Thursday's shooting could ramp up gun violence in the coming months.

In recent years, Cedar Rapids has seen its highest number of shootings during the summer.

Todd has lived in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred for more than 25 years. He said he was part of the effort to put a splash pad and playground in the nearby Redmond Park.

'I sympathize when kids don't have things to do and I'll work hard to ensure they have options,' he said. 'I have no tolerance for people who are going to shoot guns in these neighborhoods. It's not acceptable nor is it cool to continue to perpetuate this type of violence.'

Cedar Rapids overnight shooting

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