Lewiston officials unveiled a plan Thursday to address increasing in gun violence in the community.

Police say there have been 27 reported incidents over the past eight months in which shots were fired.

Most recently, there were two reports of gunfire on Aug. 24. The first took place a little before 7 p.m. at a community event at McGraw Park hosted by Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services. The second happened shortly an hour later in Pine and Horton Street.

“We understand the community’s frustration and what’s more is that I share your frustration,” Police Chief David St. Pierre said. “The only acceptable number of shootings in any community is zero. We’re exploring these additional proactive strategies that we know will help us work towards our common goal of creating a safer environment for everyone.”

City officials said they plan to engage with lawmakers about a lack of resources. For example, Androscoggin County District Attorney Neil McLean said his staff of six prosecutors has there is a backlog of over 2,000 cases.

Officials also want to see changes at the Lewiston Police Department. According to St. Pierre, there had been nine officers actively patrolling the streets as of last month. Due to recent events, the department increased that number to 13.

St. Pierre is now requesting the City Council allow the department to have up to three months of overtime to help provide a stronger police presence.

He’s also looking for support from the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  

The department is also looking to get some advance camera technology that St. Pierre says will help them better investigate drive-by shootings.

“We need as many tools in the toolbox as possible, and we’re pushing for more as much as we can at the state and federal level,” said St. Pierre.

St. Pierre said he wants to partner with local organizations and have police and Lewiston schools host information sessions about the risks and realities of gun and drug use among the youth.

“Schools are a wonderful place for people to gather, share their thoughts and be true to others, and we look to be a key role in making this happen,” said Jake Langlais, superintendent of Lewiston Public Schools.

Amran Osman is the executive director of Generational Noor, an organization that helps immigrants and the BIPOC community learn and get care for substance use disorder and mental health. She said Lewiston officials must follow through on the changes that they plan on implementing, and that youths need to be part of the solution.

Osman said that Generational Noor will be hosting a community meeting on Sept. 4 at Connors Elementary School to create actionable next steps in addressing gun violence.

“I know that these times are incredibly difficult but the guns and violence are not worth your life,” said Osman. “Please don’t let one moment of anger, of fear, dictate the course of your life.”