GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — The violence continued over the weekend in Green Bay.
One was hurt during a shooting on Walker Street in which an intoxicated man, now identified as Michael Krajewski, shot a man during an argument in what Krajewski is claiming as self defense. A second shooting was reported in the area of W. Mason St. and Hinkle St around 8:00 pm in which a man in a vehicle shot at another vehicle. Police are calling that a road rage incident.
In addition, police were called out to an incident over the weekend in which a person was threatened with a gun.
It’s part of an increasing and troubling trend. There have been over 50 shootings in Green Bay this year.
“That’s more than double what we had in all of last year,” Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith told WTAQ. “Of course that’s a concern for us, and we’re doing a lot of things.”
The uptick in violence in Green Bay is following a trend across the nation.
“We’ve seen increase in shootings and violent crime across the country,” Smith said. “Green Bay is not an exception.”
While none of the shootings over the weekend are believed to have been related, Smith says that makes those events an outlier.
“Most of the shootings we’ve had in Green Bay this year have been done by a small group of individuals that know each other,” said Smith. “[They] are having a series of ongoing disputes.”
Smith says the people involved in the shootings have been identified and a task force has been assembled in an effort to bring the perpetrators to justice and stop violent crime before it starts. They’re also meeting with community leaders in an effort to reach out to younger members of the community to deter violence.
