When police responded to a Wednesday night shooting at Knollwood Townhouses in north Rapid City that left one man dead and another injured, they heard gunfire across the street at Knollwood Heights Apartments on Surfwood Street.
The Rapid City Police Department said a man was grazed with a bullet at the Surfwood Street incident, which police say is unrelated to the Knollwood Townhouses.
“It’s days like this where it just feels like all we can really do is shield the kids from stray bullets, and that’s about it,” said Tyler Read, community engagement specialist at the RCPD. “We have a lot of big aspirations, things that could make a difference, but until the community says they’ve had enough, it’s not gonna stop.”
A 9-year-old boy who lives in the neighborhood said it’s “like the 500th murder that’s been here,” but answered no when asked if he’s scared.
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“They’re getting pretty immune to it,” Read said.
Of the 13 homicides in 2021, four occurred at “The Big Three," a term used by police to refer to the high crime area of Maplewood Townhouses, Knollwood Heights Apartments and Knollwood Townhouses.
The RCPD hasn’t confirmed if they are investigating Wednesday's case as a murder, but a statement released said, “at this point in the investigation, police believe they have most of the involved parties accounted for, and there is no belief that there is any ongoing threat to public safety as a result of the shooting.”
RCPD spokesman Brendyn Medina said Wednesday afternoon that no one had been arrested at that point. The names of the victims and suspects have not been released.
“We still have questions about just what went on prior to the shooting actually taking place. Once we can get some of those questions answered, that will determine whether there are arrests or not,” Medina said.
The next few days are crucial, Read said.
“We've got this balancing act, because after a murder happens, the first 72 hours is critical time. You can have retaliation happen,” he said. “All kinds of bad things can happen in our first 72 hours, so it's important to try and flood the neighborhood with eyes and positivity so that we can reduce the potential for that, which is real.”
Read has manned the RCPD substation in Knollwood Townhouses since September 2020. The substation serves primarily as a space for neighborhood children to work on crafts, play video games and socialize. Read also organizes bake sales called "Hood Cakes" in the community. Neighborhood kids sell baked goods to buy video games or items for community members in need.
Read has an extensive background in the art world, working as the community engagement coordinator for the Rapid City Arts Council from 2012-2019. He was a Bush Foundation Fellow from 2017-2019, and he worked as Art Director for the Cheyenne River Youth Project on the Cheyenne River Reservation from 2019 to 2020.
He and several neighborhood boys started on a mural on Wednesday afternoon on a concrete wall in front of the home of Ward 4 Rapid City Councilman Lance Lehmann. The mural will say Mitakuye Oyasin, a Lakota phrase meaning “all are related.”
Plans for the mural didn’t start on Wednesday, but Read said it would be a good way to take the events off the children’s minds.
“I think it's pretty much like the only thing we can do. Just go somewhere around the corner where it's safe and try and remind everybody through a piece of art to be good to each other,” he said. “It's something good that the kids can think about other than what's going on here.”
The RCPD has two other substations near “The Big Three.” One in the Uptown Rapid Mall is dedicated to the RCPD's youth outreach team. The third substation, located near the corner of Knollwood Drive and North Maple Avenue, opened recently just across the street from Knollwood Townhouses to provide an office space for RCPD Sgt. Ryan Phillips, who oversees patrol efforts in the neighborhood and for Read to do office work and for patrol officers to write reports, Medina previously told the Journal.
“The likelihood of someone being over there (at the new substation) and not out on a call already, and getting over there (to Knollwood Townhouses) in time, it just hasn’t happened yet,” Read said, referring to the issue of people walking by with backpacks, face masks, hats, long sleeve shirts and jeans in 100 degree weather.
“It’s this cat and mouse game,” Read said.
The RCPD asks anyone with information on the shooting incidents to contact Detective Dan Trainer at 605-394-4134. An anonymous tip can also be submitted by texting the letters ‘RCPD’ and the information to 847411.
