Newly elected Solano County Supervisor Cassandra James approached the podium at a press conference in Vallejo to address the shooting of a 4-year-old girl in the northern neighborhood known as the Crest last weekend. She fought back tears.
“Just a few days ago, I was bathing my 4-year-old when the gunshot erupted outside of my doorsteps,” she said. “This type of violence is not acceptable in this community.”
James was just one community leader gathered to speak out about the shooting, which left the child in critical condition. As of Thursday, the child was in stable condition, according to Vallejo Police Sgt. Rashad Hollis.
The department was tight-lipped about any details of the shooting, beyond the basics, citing a need to protect the investigation.
According to police, at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, reports of shots fired in the area of Mark Avenue and Sawyer Street began to come in. Soon after, a hospital notified police that a juvenile had come in suffering from at least one gunshot wound and was in critical condition.
Detectives determined that the shooting took place in the 300 block of Sawyer Street.
The child may be in stable condition, but that doesn’t mean the community is.
City urging governor’s help
Tinisch Hollins, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice, a nonprofit that emphasizes criminal justice reform and safety, said the shooting left herself and the community “rattled.”
“As a survivor, someone who has lost members of my own family to gun violence, I know what that trauma can do to hear those gunshots go off and know that a 4-year-old child was injured,” she said. “It’s something that that’s resting on my spirit and many others who are in the community.”
Hollins, herself a resident of the Crest, said it’s a beautiful community full of generations of families who deserve better.
In the wake of shootings, residents have been urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to do for Vallejo what he did for Oakland — send a California Highway Patrol surge to tackle police understaffing and crime.
Last year, a petition went around the city to get the CHP on board.
“Vallejo is currently experiencing an alarming increase in crime rates,” said petition creator Paula Conley on the Change.org site. “According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, our city has one of the highest crime rates in California for cities of similar size. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that our police department is severely understaffed and leading to longer response times and decreased effectiveness in preventing crimes.”
As of Thursday, 3,683 people had signed the petition.
However, in December, Newsom said for now he’s not going to send CHP forces and that the Vallejo Police Department should lean on the Solano County Sheriff’s Office for help. In September, the governor signed a bill to allow retired deputies to suit up and help out in Vallejo after a state of emergency was declared in 2023 due to the city’s lack of officers.
More than just policing
New Vallejo Mayor Andrea Sorce also spoke at Thursday’s event, saying that it will take more than just policing to stem the surge of violence and that the community has to get involved.
“It’s so important that we have the community at the table,” she said, adding that she and others would be organizing community meetings.
“We need to make sure that we have that trust, so that the community can come forward, that they can feel comfortable sharing tips, and most importantly, that they can give input as we worth together to build that shared vision of public safety.”
Sorce said the City Council has made a “priority” to work with the city manager and Police Department to develop strategies to deal with the problem. She said she also wants to work with neighboring cities to explore regional approaches.
“Addressing gun violence requires unity and a shared approach to community safety. … Gun violence should not, cannot and will not be normalized in our town.”
Vallejo Deputy Chief Bob Knight
Sorce said she plans on convening an interagency task force of law enforcement consisting of local, state and federal entities and elected officials.
Vallejo native and Deputy Chief Bob Knight spoke and said he hadn’t planned on speaking but that his “passion” for the city prompted him to do so.
“I’m here to stand here with this group of folks in unity,” he said. “Addressing gun violence requires unity and a shared approach to community safety … I want to say something very clearly: Gun violence should not, cannot and will not be normalized in our town.”
Last year, Vallejo saw 24 homicides, with the last fatal shooting occurring on New Year’s Eve.
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