MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Hispanic community in Memphis voiced safety concerns Wednesday night. They said they are becoming targets for crime, and not enough is being done about it.
They packed a neighborhood meeting in Berclair trying to get answers.
Jose Lopez was one of the people in the audience.
He is still healing. He showed us wounds on his legs from bullets.
He was shot four times during a robbery in Southeast Memphis in October.
The second time Lopez was robbed and shot since he moved to Memphis for Guatemala a few years back.
“They were just shooting at him like crazy. He said he felt like he was going to lose his leg at that moment,” said Lopez’s translator.
Those at the meeting spoke out about their safety concerns after they said four Hispanics were murdered, five more shot, and countless robbed since October.
Jessica Arellano was one of them. She was held at gunpoint this past weekend at a hotel off Sycamore.
“These two guys opened the truck, put the gun on my head, told me to get out of the truck, and took everything I had. My tuck, my papers, IDs and money,” she said.
“Hispanics are being targeted, because they feel that they’re scared. We are going to deport them, or they’re going to get deported, so they aren’t going to do anything,” said Daniel Flores who is concerned about the crime.
Those at the meeting said they want more patrols and cameras in the Hispanic neighborhoods, more bilingual officers, and assurance they won’t be deported if they report a crime.
Police told WREG they’re in the process of hiring more bilingual officers hoping to break barriers and get information out faster.
Right now, we are told there are 35 to 40 officers who are bilingual.
Both the districts attorney’s office and police stressed they don’t want victims to be afraid to report a crime. They are here to protect them.
We asked MPD how many violent crimes involving Hispanics there’d been in the last six months, and if they’ve seen an increase. They said they would get back to us Thursday.
