The Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Several survivors of one of the worst killing sprees in this city’s history are refusing to cooperate with police, who are having trouble finding any witnesses willing to talk.
In the past two weeks, seven people were killed and three others wounded under similar circumstances in the city’s north end. During all of last year, 14 people died as a result of a violent crime in West Palm Beach, according to FBI statistics.
Any connection between the deaths is unclear, but there are similarities. The victims are young men, some involved in nightclub fights and others in selling drugs, officials said.
“There is definitely a cultural issue here of young people who are determined to settle differences of opinions with guns and violence,” Mayor Lois Frankel said Monday. “We are going to track down the folks who are committing these crimes and bring them to justice.”
Even victims’ relatives aren’t cooperating. On Nov. 7, Ali Jean and Turner Norwood were fatally shot in their car near a Home Depot. A third man in the car survived, but he won’t talk to police.
On Friday, three people walked out of a flea market and into gunfire. Two were wounded and the third man “won’t give us the time of day,” police spokeswoman Dena Kimberlin said.
The police work of knocking on doors, tracking guns and gathering evidence could take months, even though every detective is working overtime to solve the cases, Kimberlin said.
Frankel said city officials, the police and religious leaders plan to meet to devise ways to find the killers. Police have already flooded the area with patrol cars.
“There are lots of people out there who know what’s going on. ... This is not just a police problem. It’s a community problem,” Frankel said.