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Wednesday Sunrise Weather 5/22/13
Rash of Odessa Shootings, But Victims Aren't Speaking Out 2/1/13
Flashing lights and police tape--it's a scene that's become all too familiar in Odessa.
A number of violent crimes, many of them shootings, in a matter of 24 hours this week in Odessa.
They’re all unsolved. Police say they could crack the cases, if people would just speak up.
Details are scarce on the shootings because victim's aren't speaking out.
"A lot of times, they're saying they don't know who these suspects are. They're giving us partial stories,” said Corporal Sherrie Carruth of the Odessa Police Department.
So what keeps people from talking to police? Community leaders say its not just fear of cops--but a growing trend of vigilante justice.
"People want to take the law into their own hands,” said Gene Collins of the NAACP.
People in the area near where a man was shot on Wednesday had a lot to say. Some were amazed it happened here, other neighbors say they weren’t surprised victims are remaining tight-lipped.
"People are scared..Like if I tell something, they come out and do something to me,” said Lolo Escobedo, an Odessa resident.
Police tell us they are working hard to solve the crimes, but that they can only do so much when people don't give them the full story.