Gun violence across Springfield was on the increase in the first three months of the year. The city recorded 153 shootings,l according to a State Journal-Register analysis based on ShotSpotter, the city s gunshot detection system. Sixty-nine shootings were confirmed, with 20 people hit and three killed.
By comparison, over the same period of 2020, there were 52 confirmed shootings and seven people hit by gunfire, Springfield Police Department records show.
Shootings have happened throughout Springfield with most on the city’s east side inside a box between Ninth Street and Dirksen Parkway and between Clear Lake Avenue and Laurel Street. Other clusters appear near Springfield Southeast High School, Bunn Park, Kiwanis Park and apartment complexes along Westchester Boulevard and Seven Pines Road.