Burlington mayor asks council to help stop “reckless shootings”

A day after a former Burlington city councilor was struck in the head by gunfire shrapnel in his own backyard, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger demanded the City Council and other authorities help Burlington police stop the shooting spree in the state’s largest city.

According to a VT Digger news report, Democrat David Berezniak, a Ward 2 councilor from 2008-2012 endorsed by the socialist Green Democratic Alliance, was sitting in his backyard near Roosevelt Park in the Old North End at about 7 pm Sunday when he and two people with him heard shots fired. A moment later he felt like someone had hit his head with a rock. He was treated for injuries at the hospital and released hours later.

The “gunfire incident” was the 12th in Burlington this year, compared to 14 all last year – and summer hasn’t even begun. City Councilors, especially Progressives, have downplayed the city’s growing violent crime problem. Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger issued this statement Monday:

“Gunfire incidents in Burlington are dangerous, illegal, and unacceptable. The individuals who are putting themselves and the public at risk through these reckless shootings should be on notice that the City is doing everything in its power to hold them accountable and ­stop now. To fully protect the public from gun violence, the BPD also needs action from other law enforcement agencies, the City Council, and state and federal lawmakers. Later this week, Chief [Jon] Murad and I will further detail both the BPD’s efforts to reduce gun incidents and the actions we need from partners.”

https://vermontdailychronicle.com/roosevelt-park-burlington-vt-gunfire/