GOODYEAR, AZ — A West Valley community continues to be concerned about seemingly non-stop gunfire.
After ABC15 reported on the issue in Avondale last month, neighbors have been flooding the newsroom inbox trying some answers on the issue.
So many homeowners from Avondale to Goodyear have reached out, saying they hear high-capacity rapid gunfire coming from the area where the Salt and Gila Rivers meet. They say it happens nearly every night and it has been going on for years.
“It sounds like a warzone,” Julie Schuster, Goodyear, wrote. “We have neighbors who routinely move the entire family to sleep in rooms furthest from the gunfire."
In another email, a resident states her home was struck by a stray bullet, writing: “I’ve watched our neighborhood go from a quiet, peaceful country road to an absolute lawless stretch of land.”
Among those concerned is a mother who fears for her family’s safety.
Yvonne Schuster says her young daughters Olivia and Vivian regularly wake during the night to bursts of gunfire.
“They ask, what's going on? What's that noise?” Schuster said.
It breaks the mom’s heart, to have no comforting answer for the six- and two-year-old girls.
“They're scared, you know. But it's just part of our life now, because we don't see a resolution. We don't see how it's going to stop,” Schuster said.
Schuster says when the family built their home in Goodyear and moved in last year, they were not prepared to hear gunfire, day and night, coming from the river bottom area.
“There's not a given night that's not happening,” Schuster said. “It's just reckless. It's unsafe, and it's concerning.”
She is afraid to let her kids play outside. A birthday party in the backyard for one of her girls had to be moved last year when the family heard shots fired from the nearby river bottom.
Schuster’s fears are magnified by stray bullets striking nearby homes.
“It's scary, just because we can see exactly where they're shooting off at,” she said.
One family tells ABC15 that a bullet pierced their window in 2022. Another house was hit by several stray bullets this November, according to the Avondale Police Department. They are responding to the calls along with the Goodyear Police Department, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies.
“It's been a popular place for people to go down with off-highway vehicles, maybe target shooting and things like that,” Officer David Benavidez, Avondale Police Neighborhood Resource Officer, said.
Avondale police bought two off-road vehicles and added two patrol officers on weekends to address the problem.
They report making 294 arrests for river bottom violations since May of this year, most for trespassing. A bulk of the Agua Fria River bottom is owned by private property owners. Other owners include the cities of Avondale and Goodyear, the Flood Control District of Maricopa County, and Buckeye Water Conservation and Draining District. Part of the area is a riparian refuge.
The City of Avondale is also now installing a barbed wire fence to keep off-road vehicles off the land.
“We know that Avondale is growing and a lot of development is happening in the area, so it's time that we make sure we take a proactive effort to decrease those incidents that are happening,” Officer Benavidez said.
Officer Benavidez says the police department has also made firearms arrests and is conducting investigations. Every firearm seized undergoes a stolen weapons check and an e-Trace. That is internet-based firearms tracing and analysis by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that allows law enforcement to enter and access firearms trace data, including origin and purchaser. All shooting offenses are being investigated, regardless of weapon type, according to Officer Benavidez.
Goodyear police say they have responded to 23 calls for shots fired since November 1, seven of those from the river bottom. They say about 30% of the total calls fall into Goodyear’s jurisdiction.
“The Goodyear Police Department is fully committed to providing the highest level of safety precautions for our residents and being transparent about our practices,” Officer Michael Bonasera, Goodyear Police Department Public Information Bureau, told ABC15.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office also confirms they were part of a joint task force with Avondale and Goodyear Police Departments, which yielded several arrests and citations earlier this year. Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez says they continue to respond to calls for service in the area.
A West Valley community Facebook group reflects a persistent problem, with neighbors writing about gunfire in the river bottom area since at least 2020. Schuster says she, family, and friends call police whenever they hear the shooting, sometimes calling several days in a row.
“When’s enough, enough?” Schuster said. “We don’t want anyone’s, you know, family member, or my child to get hurt… Innocent lives are being impacted by it.”
While her little girls bask in their imaginations and play house in the backyard, Schuster says her dream of home ownership will be tainted until her family feels safe.
“They know that they're above the law, and they know that no one's going to stop them,” Schuster said. “We have to keep waiting. My girls are growing… We built our dream home, and we want to live in peace.”
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