LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- Shots are fired near Markham and Main in Little Rock early Saturday morning. One man was shot in his left shoulder and is expected to recover.
With every reported incident, citizens ask about safety in the River Market area. Will there be increased police patrols? And is there a specific problem in the River Market, or is it no different from every other downtown area?
Sgt. Cassandra Davis of the Little Rock police describes the incident at the corner of Scott and Markham in downtown Little Rock, "Officers heard shots. Several shots."
At 1:45 a.m. Saturday, "We did find several vehicles with bullet holes to them. So we know there were at least three vehicles that were involved somehow, but we're still trying to determine what the pDavis said.
So what can be done to increase safety? Sharon Priest is the executive director of Downtown Little Rock Partnership, and says additional police surveillance cameras are on the way.
"While the video camera isn't going to stop anybody from doing something they shouldn't do, it will hopefully provide evidence in the future," Priest said.
Those cameras are set to be in place throughout the downtown area by the end of the summer.
"Short of assigning a police officer to every man, woman and child I don't know how else we can assure people's safety. The rest of us need to be very aware of our surroundings. We need to exercise common sense," Priest added.
Phillip Richardson works along River Market and says things used to be even worse.
"Breaking in stores, busting people's windows but the police are doing what they can to clean up the town," Richardson said.
THV also spoke with several people along President Clinton Avenue.
"I feel pretty safe. I've been down here in the evening and hadn't had any problem," said Roxana Stillman.
"I think it depends on where you go, what you're doing, how safe it is," added Katie Carter.
"We come down in the evening; we'll come down with the family, but we kind of stay around in this area," said Doug Gulbranson.
According to police, many of the incidents occur in the overnight hours, after a number of establishments close. They said many of theDavis reiterates the importance of locking your car, keeping valuables out of sight, and focusing on your personal safety at all times.
Police also said it's important not to carry a lot of money with you, especially when going out late at night, not only downtown, but in any area.