INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis community is taking action after a string of robberies in their neighborhood.
One of those robberies happened at 49th and Pennsylvania in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood where a gas station clerk was shot.
According to the city’s crime tracker, IMPD has investigated four robberies in the past month in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood, one of them happening at the gas station.
People who live in the neighborhood told 24-Hour News 8 before the crime gets out of hand they have to do something about it.
“When you’ve got crime you have to do something about it,” said Caroline Farrar.
Farrar has called the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood home since 1981.
“People try to be like Meridian-Kessler and they can’t,” she said
Farrar is the director of the Meridian-Kessler Neighborhood Association, a neighborhood now on high alert after an uptick in robberies.
“When other areas of the city are cracking down on crime, it pushes it into areas where it’s not,” Farrar said.
IMPD’s crime stats said from Oct.17 to Nov. 6 the community has seen a number of vehicle break-ins and robberies, including one robbery caught on surveillance video of a gas station employee who was shot.
“The perpetrator ended up carrying the cash register down the street and nobody seemed to notice,” Farrar said.
It’s crime Mike Sommerkamp is not surprised to see moving in his community.
“Meridian-Kessler has been very quiet,” he said
Sommerkamp has lived in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood for 12 years. He said he’s been a victim of crime twice since living in the community, but overall it’s nothing compared to what’s happening outside their bubble.
“In my opinion there should probably be more crime than there has been. Not that I’m inviting it, but we’ve had it fairly lite,” Sommerkamp said.
“Crime comes in waves,” said Farrar.
Farrar said they have to fight back. She said many of her neighbors can do their part to stop the violence moving in.
“When you are spoiled, when you really have a good record people aren’t as anxious. It’s when something happens when you drive back at it,” Farrar said.
The Meridian-Kessler Neighborhood Association will hold a meeting Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Cafe Patachou to discuss ways homeowners can help stop the crime.
Organizers said an IMPD representative will also be on hand for the meeting to give homeowners some ideas.