HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – Holyoke Police are investigating their fifth homicide this year after a deadly shooting last night.
Arrests have been made in four out of the five of those cases with the investigation still underway into last night’s shooting but city leaders are calling for ShotSpotter to be put in place.
“It’s five more than we’d like and we aim for from a preventative standpoint as a DA’s office,” said DA Anthony Gulluni. Five murder investigations, all since July. Gulluni said the number of deadly shootings in the city is higher than average.
Holyoke Police Chief David Pratt said, “When something like this happens, what we can do is get on the ground and solve these murders and take those people off the street.”
The news conference at City Hall Thursday afternoon came with a push for ShotSpotter. The tool is used by police departments like Springfield to identify when gunshots have gone off.
Last Thursday, the City Council tabled a discussion on receiving grant funding for the program, as some expressed concern the program could bring police disproportionately to Black and Brown communities.
22News asked Mayor Joshua Garcia how the city plans to address the recent shootings in the short term, “That’s what makes me lose sleep every single night. What is it that I can do currently to help intervene and prevent the next murder or prevent the next situation? And ShotSpotter is just one tool in the tool box.”
District Attorney Gulluni has not yet released the name of this most recent victim but said the suspect was captured on surveillance footage.
