WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) -Downtown business owners and a Wilmington city councilmember are calling for a change in safety in the downtown area.

The response comes after several incidents and a deadly shooting over the weekend.

Councilmember Luke Waddell told WECT his phone was ringing off the hook yesterday, with several business owners contacting him with their concerns. The common theme was that many people feel downtown has changed, becoming less safe and there needs to be more of a police presence in the area.

One business owner WECT spoke to felt the same, especially with his business just being half a block away from that deadly shooting.

“Things seem to be getting a little out of hand in the late nights,” Chap Wallace, the owner of Port City Cheesesteak, said.

After working downtown for nearly 20 years, Wallace said he believes the environment has changed.

“Up until a year or two ago I don’t recall anybody ever getting shot,” Wallace said. “When the tourists Google downtown Wilmington and the first thing that pops up is an article about a guy getting shot four times this past Saturday, nobody wants that.”

A shooting over the weekend in front of Isaac’s Menswear left 34-year-old Raquan Wilson dead. Several days later, the gunman is still on the loose.

Another incident in downtown Wilmington over the weekend had many people running. Wilmington police say children were setting off fireworks in the middle of the street in downtown Wilmington on the Fourth of July. A 12-year-old was detained.

“Our kids have to be our number one priority and to just allow a rampant lawlessness to go on with these minors running around, it’s really a recipe for disaster,” Waddell said.

In a Facebook post, Waddell outlined four measures he’d like the city council to take action on. This included a public camping and trespass ordinance, a juvenile curfew, accountability for “bad actor” bars who knowingly let in underage patrons and a review with Wilmington’s new police chief of downtown police presence and strategy.

“When you’ve talked about public safety and lives being at stake, especially children’s lives, I mean, that to me is paramount,” Waddell said.

Wallace agrees that a lot of these potential solutions could help the problem. While he doesn’t know specifics, he does know that something needs to change before it’s too late.

“it’s not out of control,” Wallace said. “There’s a lot of places that are a lot worse to be fair, but it can become out of control if something’s not done.”

We reached out to WPD about what their current downtown patrols look like. Communications Specialist Brandon Shope gave us the following statement:

“I cannot comment on that specifically at this time, but in response to your question about our current strategy, I can tell you that the WPD currently utilizes an enforcement strategy to combat criminal activity that is made up of multiple units. In addition, several years ago, we implemented a proactive community engagement approach to build positive relationships with the community that also helps to deter crime in the downtown district. Our Mounted Unit has been highly successful in building positive relationships with community members and visitors alike. Additionally, our Downtown Task Force officers are able to utilize e-bikes to patrol the area and respond to incidents with speed and effectiveness. Our ABC Enforcement officers work hard to ensure that all alcohol laws are being followed and our Traffic Enforcement Unit is also a key part of keeping impaired drivers off city streets. Our STING Center also utilizes multiple cameras located throughout the city to assist with officer response and criminal investigations. We cannot comment further on specific strategies and tactics.”

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