On Tuesday morning, a Stockton affordable housing community was shocked by a fatal shooting, marking the 28th homicide in the city this year and at least the second to occur at a similar housing community since Spring, according to the local police.
The identity of the deceased man has not yet been disclosed by authorities. This latest act of violence is the fourth homicide this year to ravage the neighborhoods and homeless camps nestled between the Crosstown Freeway in downtown Stockton and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the city's south.
The victim was discovered at around 7:07 a.m. on South El Dorado Street near East Church Street, the location of Crossway Residence—an affordable apartment complex managed by county housing and behavioral health officials. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Details regarding the shooter or a potential motive remain uncertain.
By 9 a.m., police technicians were spotted photographing evidence beneath a second-floor walkway on the Crossway Residence's eastern building. Church Street between Center and El Dorado streets was cordoned off for the investigation.
The area, a narrow stretch between downtown and south Stockton, has seen its share of violence. Only two months ago, a 56-year-old man was shot just a block away from Crossway Residence, while another man was killed along Scotts Avenue, a hotspot for residents living in parked vehicles and campers.
The police department has faced a deepening officer shortage, prompting the removal of designated officers from affordable housing communities since spring. However, Peter Ragsdale, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin, does not believe there is a direct link between the homicides and the absence of police officers in these communities.
"We can't wait to get that [police] detail back," Ragsdale stated, referring to the reassigned officers. These sentiments reflect the mounting concern for safety within these vulnerable communities amidst ongoing police shortages.
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