Highland Park residents react to recent crime in neighborhood

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Residents of the Highland Park neighborhood are expressing their concerns after another violent crime happened in their area.

Wednesday night, a drive-by shooting in the 2000 block of Anderson Avenue sent a pregnant woman to the hospital.

“I was driving home about 11. I just saw a bunch of cop cars, and fire truck, and ambulance. And I was just like, I drove by it and there was crime scene tape. And I knew it was something bad,” Alexander Ioannidis said.

Residents of Highland Park are concerned that a violent crime like this happened in their neighborhood.

“If you’ve never been anywhere near crime, you kind of see it as something that happens on TV, and if it happens even like six blocks away from you now, you feel like you’re part of it. Like you feel like you’ve been kind of traumatized by it in some ways,” said Emerson Burch, who is a part of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association.

Some neighbors have mentioned online about going to the Chattanooga Police Department personally.

However, Burch believes change comes from the community.

“This is a question for city government. It’s a question for non-profits and partners to say you know how do we facilitate a society in Chattanooga that is not as violent,” Burch said.

“Police can only do so much to prevent crime. Crime starts in the heart, and we have to change that,” Ioannidis said.

Both Burch and Ioannidis say they have never felt unsafe in Highland Park.