ASHEVILLE - Gun violence — namely homicides, robberies and aggravated assaults — has risen 55% in three years, attributable in part to gangs, the police department's second-in-command told elected city leaders.

City gangs are "very organized" and "complex" and have a focus on selling illicit drugs, an Asheville Police Department spokeswoman said June 27, responding to questions from the Citizen Times. The statement was one of the most explicit confirmations of gang activity in Asheville.

The brunt of the gun violence is borne by the poorest neighborhoods, APD Deputy Chief Jim Baumstark told City Council on June 25. Two public housing complexes in West Asheville and one near downtown account for "more than half of all calls for gunshot wounds, gun discharges and persons with guns," he said.

To combat the trend, APD has formed a new task force and will increase police presence. But officers also need residents to help them, Baumstark said. A major barrier has been a lack of people with information willing to come forward.

"We need to continue and engage input and open dialogue about violence, the drug epidemic and gang violence," Baumstark said. "Those aren’t the only reasons I think we're having an increase in gun violence but are certainly some of the factors."

Officers aren't asking for people with information to give a name or address or phone number, he said. "But if they see something that is not right, we would like them to call."

A 'disturbing' trend

The deputy chief's unannounced presentation wasn't on the council's June 25 agenda and came during the manager's report section when City Manager Debra Campbell relays updates and concerns to her bosses.

Campbell called the gun violence trend "disturbing" and said there was also a report of a spike in Charlotte, where she worked as assistant city manager until coming to Asheville in December.

"I wish Jim (Baumstark) could answer the question of why these types of crime are increasing in Asheville and other communities, but mostly I wish he could say we have a solution," she said. "But what we know for sure is these acts of violence can't be solved by APD alone. It will take a community-wide effort both to own and help address this complex issue."

Gun violence crimes down, then up

Gun violence crimes actually fell 17% in 2016. But since then they have climbed, up 9% in 2017; 24% in 2018, and 14% in 2019.

So far this year, homicides are down compared to the same time period in 2018, dropping from five to two. One of those was the June 12 fatal shooting of a pregnant woman, Tiyquasha Antwonique Simuel, who was the witness in a high-profile murder case.

But robberies are up by 26% and aggravated assaults have risen 16% in year-over-year comparisons.

In a month-to-month comparison, this year was similar to 2018 — until a spike in the spring. Violent crimes involving firearms, as well as calls about guns were similar in 2018 and 2019 until April.

There were 75 calls about guns in April of this year compared to 64 in April 2018. In May there were 79, compared to 52 in May 2018. Calls can be about gunshot wounds, gun discharges or people with guns.

The number of actual crimes with firearms was about the same in April, with 15 in that month in 2018 and 14 this year.

In May 2018, that number dropped to eight. But in May 2019 they spiked, reaching 23.

The numbers don't include a June 9 gun battle in an apartment complex near an elementary school.

Five of the top 10 locations from which calls originated were in and around public housing communities, police said.

Guns in neighborhoods

More than half the calls came from three: Pisgah View and Deaverview in West Asheville and Hillcrest — a complex near Isaac Dickson Elementary School, the Montford neighborhood and downtown.

Councilman Vijay Kapoor said he couldn't imagine what it was like for parents in those places.

"Regardless of where we come down on police issues, or other types of issues or social issues, nobody wants to see people get shot in this city, nobody wants to see kids get shot in this city."

Councilwoman Sheneika Smith said she wanted to debunk the "myth" that it was residents of the housing complexes behind the crimes.

"They are really the victims," Smith said. Rather it was people coming from "outside of Asheville" who were causing the problems, she said.

Baumstark said he didn't have data immediately available on where perpetrators lived but said he agreed "not all of the players and the people causing the violence are from the communities."

In the case of the June 9 gun battle, five of the six charged were non-Asheville residents, according to a records search by the Citizen Times.

Councilman Keith Young requested Baumstark give more detailed information on people charged with the gun crimes, including age, race and sex. Asked later by the Citizen Times about the information, APD spokeswoman Christina Hallingse said it would take "some time" to compile the information and there was no estimated date of completion.

More:Asheville shootout aftermath: Six men charged, guns seized

More:Pregnant woman killed in shooting was witness in high-profile Nathaniel Dixon murder trial

Gangs

Asked to further characterize the gang violence referenced by Baumstark, another APD spokeswoman, Jerri Jameson, responded June 27, saying city police routinely analyze gang violence.

"Gangs, as you might know, are very organized and complex organizations," Jameson said, adding APD was continuing to investigate gang activity and develop new information.

"While we cannot state that all gang-related gun violence is related to drugs, we have no doubt that drugs are a big component of gang activity," she said.

Protecting potential witnesses

Baumstark made several pleas for residents and business owners to tell police about crimes they've seen, or even suspect.

"I would rather go down and find out there is absolutely nothing than go down and find a shooting an hour after they saw something that they didn’t think was right," the deputy chief said.

But Smith asked what police were doing to help people feel safe from retribution. In the case of the witness Simuel, APD has declined to comment on whether officers believe her homicide was connected to her testimony, though a man who identified himself as her boyfriend told the Citizen Times he believed she was not the target in the shooting.

"What are you doing to protect individuals who do stand up and individuals who may have to testify or make statements?" the councilwoman said.

Baumstark said tips can be made anonymously on the phone. And if someone talks to officers but doesn't want to be known, detectives will look for other ways to find and confirm the same information, so there's no link to the source.

Increased police presence, pledge from Kapoor

Police data analysts use a software to help predict crime spikes and can often narrow that to days and times, Baumstark said.

Asked about what data is used to make the predictions or how accurate it's proven to be, Jameson didn't answer but said the predictions are regularly used to assign officers and other resources. The APD spokeswoman added the forecasts were based only on reported crimes and more information would mean better predictions.

Baumstark said one of those forecasts was for a "slight increase" in gun violence.

"That is why we put together the task force and started reaching out to business owners," he said.

The deputy chief didn't give details on the makeup of the task force but said it would have state and federal partners. Another part of the strategy would be to increase police presence and work with community organizations to respond to root causes of crime, he said.

Kapoor said he was struck by the city manager's call for residents to "own" the problem and not leave it just to police. He asked police to tell him what he could do as an elected official.

"In terms of owning it, that starts with us here on council as well and in the community."