TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Neighbors in the Eagle Point Estates neighborhood say illegal gunfire is still occurring in a nearby desert area, even after the Pima County Sheriff's Department launched an enforcement operation to stop it.
Carlos Sam and Pete Smith say it has been quieter since Operation Desert Silence began May 2, but the gunshots have not completely stopped. Video recorded by Smith and other neighbors on July 14 around 7 p.m. captures gunfire in the area.
"We called the cops. Probably for a good half an hour and the gunshots were still going so I don't know what's going on. I don't know if they're taking their foot off the gas pedal a little bit, but we're trying to do our part with keeping to inform them because we're still hearing the stuff again," Smith said. "And if we don't do anything about that, then obviously it's just gonna start recurring," Smith said.
READ MORE: Dodging bullets: Westside neighbors call for action after gunfire hits homes
Sam said this has happened before where deputies would come out in the beginning and then slow down their presence. He doesn't want that pattern to continue.
"There's been action taken, which it's been slowing down but at the same time I feel like sometimes the calls that we're making are not getting responded as quick as they were," Sam said.
PCSD launched Operation Desert Silence to stop illegal gunfire and unauthorized off-road vehicle use in the area after the State Land Department banned recreation there.
KGUN 9 spoke with Sgt. Gabriel Maynes, PCSD Special Enforcement Team Supervisor, in June about the operation. He said the problems in the area are not new, but public pressure helped push the department to take action.
"This was a problem already. It had been happening for quite some time. I was just surprised that it took this much attention from the public to finally get us to actually do something," Sgt. Maynes said. "But again, the sheriff was really good about saying, hey, we're gonna do something, we have to do something."
From May 2 through July 12, PCSD says it made contact with 337 people, issuing 119 citations, 81 written warnings and making nine arrests. The department added there have been no arrests pertaining to firearms during these operations.
This is an increase from May's statistics. In June, PCSD told KGUN 9 from May 2 to May 31, it conducted 12 deployments resulting in 177 contacts, 63 written warnings, 52 traffic stops, six arrests and three towed vehicles.
The neighbors say they have already experienced close calls and want to prevent any tragedies.
"Sheriff's department, please just have the same passion we have because again, bullets flying around the neighborhood is not cool, hitting people's houses is not cool, and we don't want to get to some type of fatality for them to take it more serious," Smith said.
Sam is also calling on neighbors to stay engaged.
"If you're out there and you live in this neighborhood or any other neighborhood, please keep on calling. Let's keep our neighborhood safe," Sam said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
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