By WMBD News

BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington is noticing an uptick in shots fired incidents.

“Violence is concerning in any neighborhood. Especially in the city of Bloomington,” he said.

So far this year, the department has responded to 14 confirmed incidents.

“We’re trying to identify the why behind it,” Simington said. “Also, identify the suspects and bring some folks to justice who are responsible for driving the violence.”

Out of the 14 shootings, two people were injured and zero arrests have been made.

“We’re going to give our complete efforts to solving those cases and bringing someone to justice who were responsible for being involved in those shootings,” he said.

Groups like Moms Demand Action understand that law enforcement cannot combat gun violence alone.

“We know that gun violence isn’t something you can’t arrest your way out of,” said volunteer Karen Irvin.

The McLean County local group of Moms Demand Action works with other community groups and law enforcement when educating on gun safety or pushing for legislation to prevent gun violence.

“You hear people say, ‘well criminals aren’t going to follow the law.’ well, okay, I’m not going to argue that,” said volunteer Sarah Breeden. “But if we make it harder for them to get guns or harder for them to get their hands on something because of legislation then we’ve perhaps saved a life or two or more.”

WMBD can be reached at [email protected].