OPA-LOCKA, FLA. (WSVN) - The Miami-Dade chapter of the NAACP is calling for a crime crackdown in an Opa-Locka neighborhood that has seen a rise in gun violence, leaving residents living in fear.
“It’s the devil’s dungeon in here,” said resident Sholanda Rivers.
A literal hell is how some in Opa-Locka describe what they are living in at Cordoba Courts, a HUD housing community off Northwest 22nd Avenue and 139th Street.
“They have willfully neglected their duties to maintain, to protect and preserve the quality of life that they are funding for,” said Miami-Dade NAACP member Daniella Pierre.
Neighbors recalled the sounds they hear often after the sun sets. Many feel unsafe inside their own home.
Since the start of the new year, there has been an uptick in gun violence, according to police.
“It is senseless,” said Opa-Locka Police Lt. Nikeya Jenkins.
In the past week, two people have been shot and killed in this neighborhood, including a 17-year-old. No arrests so far have been made.
While some say they can’t live here anymore, others want to see changes made by their landlord.
“We need change, gates closed. We need armed security officers along with off-duty police officers,” Rivers said.
And police officers are calling on the community to step up.
“To those residents who say they don’t see anything, they don’t hear anything, it has nothing to do with them, you are just as guilty as the person that is committing the crime, so it may not be your brother today, but you need to understand that tomorrow it may be,” Jenkins said.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.