ANTIOCH — Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe and the police department on Wednesday took steps to reassure the public the city is doing all it can to stop a sudden surge in gun violence, vowing to seek $100,000 in funding to pay for help from outside law enforcement agencies.
The statements followed a packed City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, where dozens of residents called on city officials to put an end to a string of shootings that has “wreaked havoc” in Antioch this month.
The shootings — more than a dozen in all — have been concentrated in a three-block radius near the Sycamore Drive corridor and along Cavallo Road.
“I called on our regional partner agencies to specifically support so we can add extra patrols in the Sycamore corridor,” Hernandez-Thorpe said at a press conference Wednesday. “One agency has taken up on that offer.” said Hernandez-Thorpe at a press conference Wednesday morning alongside police Capt. Joe Vigil.
The mayor, however, was tight-lipped about the proposal, adding that he was still finalizing the details before introducing it at a City Council meeting next month.
Hernandez-Thorpe also said the city will be moving forward on a parking permit program for the Sycamore area, particularly on Peppertree Way and Lemontree Way, to restrict access to those areas, adding that outsiders have “taken over” some of those streets for drug-related activities.
The mayor said he sent a letter on Monday to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office to support the Antioch Police Department by bringing its Safe Streets Task Force to crack down on street gangs and violent crime.
Hernandez-Thorpe added that Antioch’s Interim police Chief Brian Addington has also been working with the District Attorney’s office seeking assistance in dealing with the shooting spree, which began with the killing of 21-year-old Elijah Scales on Sept.2 near on Peppertree Way. A DA spokesperson said “communications have occurred and will continue” between the DA’s office and APD.
“Let me speak very clearly to the people who have been wreaking havoc on our community. We are going to find you,” the mayor said while vowing to issue daily updates on the situation on his social media pages. “We’re going to hold you accountable, and you will pay the price for what you’ve done.”
Police said there have been 15 shootings since Sept 2., some of which were related and appear to be retaliatory in nature. Although others, such as a Sept. 16 shooting at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds, have no relation to the string of shootings.
Capt. Vigil said police “suspect there are some gang (war) undertones.”
“Our detectives are still trying to flush that out to see how much of that is accurate before we say it’s a gang issue,” said Vigil.
The police department last week announced it had rearranged staffing and assigned two additional officers to patrol the Sycamore corridor for at least a week. The city has not had a shooting since four days ago on Sept. 21, officials said Wednesday.
When asked about his earlier statement calling for tougher measures, including enacting a curfew and asking for National Guard assistance, Hernandez-Thorpe said the city would do everything necessary to protect people’s lives.
“Every option should be on the table. Nothing should be taken off,” he said.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, dozens of residents and members of faith-based organizations expressed their frustration, and offered to help put an end to the gun violence. Some residents suggested solutions to identify the root cause of the problem, with many emphasizing a collective action approach.
Pastor Dakia Brinkley said the violence is not contained in the Sycamore corridor but is city-wide and demanded stronger policing and accountability from the city.
”The police department is accountable for our safety. The mayor, the city council, is responsible and accountable for our safety,” she said.
Catherine Watts said there should be more programs to cater to the youth and children to fill their time after school, calling on the city to revisit the idea of creating a recreation center for youth activities.
Another resident, Odessa La Francois, requested the creation of a police substation at the Sycamore Square shopping center and urged the city to partner with the Antioch Unified School District to provide free transportation for students in the area so they are “not walking through all the chaos” daily.
A business owner at the Sycamore Plaza named Dora said he grew up in his family-owned store over the past 30 years but has never seen things “this bad.”
“I’ve had my employee’s car windows shot; we’ve had bullets through our windows and buildings. The cost of it all is coming from our pocket. Customers say they don’t feel safe coming in. Something needs to be done, it’s ridiculous,” he said.
Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker, who represents the Sycamore area, said gun violence has always been a public health issue. In 2024, the county health department received funding and started doing community meetings in Antioch, asking residents to engage them around how they could bring resources to the city, she said.
“The Safe Streets Task Force that the District Attorney led in 2023 said they were willing to help Antioch, but the city has to send one officer to sit on this task force. We never committed an officer to bring those resources,” she said.
Councilmember Mike Barbanica said landlords must be held accountable, claiming that the corner of Peppertree Way and Sycamore Drive saw an uptick in violence after a homeowners association left.
“I believe we need to look into putting legal pressure to bring back the HOA to have security patrolling the area and have landlords accountable,” Barbanica said.
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