On my radio show yesterday, Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May confirmed that he had heard many of the same rumors of a gang war brewing. He admitted that he is concerned for the safety of the community.
“There is a sense of urgency and fear,” said Commissioner May. “I met with a group on yesterday that believe that it’s going be a bloodbath.”
Yesterday, I put up on the blog a rap video that showed victims from the recent shooting. Commissioner May called it “shameful” and “hurtful.”
“Unfortunately, some of those young people I know, and they’re perpetuating the gang violence. And I often say, as long as it’s concentrated in the pockets of poverty and low income and minority communities, it’s not a sense of awareness for it. But I tell you, Rick, it’s a community problem. It’s not a black problem. It’s not a District 3 problem. It is a community problem because it spills out.”
He believes the recent shootings are part of a battle between the “Eastside versus Montclair.”
“We have a gun problem. And, you know, I think the question becomes, where do the guns come from? …Unfortunately, guns are running rampant throughout the Pensacola community.”
Commissioner May has been around community centers all his life. His grandmother was the janitor for the Fricker Center for 30 years.
“I’ve simply gone to a community center probably every day of my life, and probably for one of the first times, I feel unsafe. I feel that it’s a danger and it’s a danger to many of our good children.”
Another Shooting
WEAR News reports that a man believed to have been shot in Ensley showed up at local hospital last night.
- The television station chose to withhold information about the hospital “out of respect for the victim’s safety.”
However, ECSO did post on Facebook three days ago a request for help on a homicide that happened a month ago:
HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION:
On 6/23/2023, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the 5600th block of Graymont Drive. They located a male victim deceased from gunshot wounds in a white Toyota Camry. The vehicle had been shot multiple times on the driver-side door.
If you have any information regarding this homicide investigation, please call Crime Stoppers at 850-433-STOP (7867) to remain anonymous or the ECSO at 850-436-9620.