The recent surge in local gang violence seems to have left many
residents pessimistic about a possible solution to Hollister’s gang
problem, if not exactly paralyzed with fear.
Hollister – The recent surge in local gang violence seems to have left many residents pessimistic about a possible solution to Hollister’s gang problem, if not exactly paralyzed with fear.
“When I go to the grocery store at night, I almost always see kids who look like they’re out for trouble,” said local resident Denise Perry. “Some of them my fourteen year old son recognized from school. It makes me think ‘What’s going on here?'”
Hollister has seen no less than four gang-related shootings in recent months – the most recent of which sent a 56 year old man with no gang ties to the hospital on Monday – as well as a stabbing outside of Albertsons grocery store earlier in November. While none of the incidents proved fatal, many local residents are finding them a frightening wake up call to the seriousness of the community’s gang problem.
“I think in the past this town has been in denial, but not any more,” said local resident Gloria Schifferling. “I have a teenage son, so I’ve really noticed it in the last few years. Or maybe it’s just that I started paying attention.”
Other residents, however, are not so surprised that gang violence is taking center stage within the community. Carlos Quezadaperez lives on Sherwood Drive, where the most recent shooting took place. While he says gangs don’t scare him or affect how he lives his life, he feels frustrated because he doesn’t believe a solution to community’s gang problem will come easily.
“It’s hard for the police to do anything, because there’s so much crime and drugs everywhere, not just in this neighborhood,” he said through an interpreter. “It’s hard to catch people like that.”
“It’s not really that I’m scared of gangs, but I stay indoors a lot,” added thirteen year old Omar Quezadaperez.
Jesse M., who declined to give his full name to avoid gang retaliation, was born and raised in Hollister, but moved and joined a gang in his teens. When he decided to leave the gang and move back to Hollister to raise his children, he was surprised to see more prominent gang activity than he had in his youth. Today he lives in a cul de sac just off Central Avenue, where three of the four shootings took place.
“I try to keep my kids safe by watching who they hang out with,” he said. “I keep them away from other kids who have gang-related fathers. I’ve seen and been through a lot, so I know better.”
While he believes it is his personal responsibility to keep his children away from gang violence, he holds out little hope that Hollister’s gang presence will disappear completely.
“This has been going on for generations, since the zoot-suiters. Its roots are too deep,” he said. “I hope the police have some good ideas, but it’s just my point of view that it will never stop. I mean, I left that life for a reason.”
However, many local residents have taken a more optimistic stance. The most recent community gang task force meeting, which was held earlier in the month, was the most well-attended to date. And as the community becomes more aware of the problem, the more ideas local residents have about how best to fend off the local gang presence.
“It’s not just a crime problem –it’s about dress codes at school, affordable housing so that parents can actually stay at home and raise their kids, and stricter curfews at night – even if my kids will hate me for saying that,” said Perry.
Anyone interested in volunteering with the gang task force can call the police at 636-4330.
