The Killeen Police Department heard from residents Thursday night during its second âCommunity Conversationâ at a local middle school.
The 90-minute forum, which started at 6 p.m., took place at Live Oak Ridge Middle School on Robinett Road in western Killeen. Close to 20 people were in attendance at the event.
Killeen Police Chief Charles Kimble and other members of the department were present for the program. Officers from the detectives unit, criminal prevention unit, recruiting and many others discussed the in and outs of their departments and how the community can utilize them.
The floor was also open for residents to share any concerns they might have within their own neighborhoods, or with current issues concerning policing.
Killeen residents had the opportunity Thursday night to talk with representatives of the police department about issues and concerns they have about the community.
People gathered at Potterâs House Church on Thursday for a âcommunity conversationâ hosted by the Killeen Police Department. About 45-50 people were in attendance.
Killeen police Chief Charles Kimble said the main goal of the conversation is to form a line of communication between law enforcement and the community.
âWe just want to have a conversation with the community about how weâre doing things as a department so we donât have any blind spots,â Kimble said earlier this week.
Now, one week later, the long-term response to this crisis seems unclear.
On Saturday, two days after Christmas, Cadarian Connell Parker, 19, was shot and killed on Houston Street on Killeenâs north side. A 5-year-old child was wounded in that same shooting.
The following day, three 18-year-old males were injured in a shooting that was caught on video in the 2700 block of Alma Drive. Shyheim Khali Matthews, 18, has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault-bodily injury with a deadly weapon in connection with that incident.
During a Monday press conference, Killeen Police Department Chief Charles Kimble stated very definitively that the incidents are gang related. Specifically, the Young Paper Chasers and the K-Town Mafia are the two gangs involved. He described these as âhybridâ gangs, without an identifiable leader and who make efforts to conceal their identity.