8 arrests, 4 incidents: Wilmington Police renews promise to arrest violent offenders
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The Wilmington Police Department is aiming to get violent offenders and illegal firearms off the streets in the Port City.
After WWAY sat down with Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams last week to discuss recent shootings, WPD announced eight arrests in four incidents in a little more than a month on Monday.
In 2020, the department announced a three-prong approach to combating gun violence — intervention, prevention, and enforcement. The chief says the department relies on community partners to help with intervention and prevention, but says WPD is working diligently on enforcement.
“We are going to bend over backward to do our part of this, which is the enforcement piece,” Williams said. “We are committed to arresting violent offenders.”
In the first six months of 2023, Williams says firearm-related assaults are down 30 percent from the first six months of 2022. Overall violent crime is down 10 percent.
In most cases, the chief says the people involved in the crimes know one another and are involved in conflict.
Williams says the community serves a crucial role in getting offenders arrested and off the streets. The smallest tip, he says, can be the key to solving a case.
“In a lot of cases, someone in the community knows what’s going on,” Williams said. “They know when we have a conflict taking place between two different groups or two different individuals and we just want the stuff to stop. If we get the information in advance, we can try to get resources to the area and prevent something big from happening.”
Tips can be submitted to the police department by calling (910) 343-3600 or anonymously through the Wilmington NC PD App.
“If you don’t want us to know your number, block it, *67. We just want the information that could help point us in the right direction,” Williams said.
The chief urges the community to come out to meet officers at WPD on Tuesday night for National Night Out. He says it will be a fun time, but important conversations need to be had about the violence happening in the community. The event will take place at The Pointe at Barclay from 6 pm to 9 pm.
The department is still investigating other shootings, like the one at Burger King and Independence Mall, and the chief is confident charges will be brought forward in the future.
