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'It's got to stop,' Beaumont Police investigating several shootings six days into 2020

A handful of people have been struck by gunfire, but the new year hasn't seen any homicides in Beaumont

Some Beaumont residents are on edge after police say they received dozens of calls about shots being fired in the first few days of 2020. 

A few people have been hit by gunfire, but fortunately the city hasn't seen any homicides in the first few days of the new year. 

Two shootings happened within 24 hours on Sunday. It's sparked fear among some in the community. 

According to 12News' records, Beaumont had 18 homicides in 2019. In 2018, the city had 13. 

A 2018 report from the FBI found that Beaumont has more violent crimes per capita than Houston.

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Kenneth Bean Sr. is the pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church in Beaumont's north end. He says the solution to Beaumont's crime is found in scripture.

"Our weapon for hatred, our weapon for the killings and all of this is prayer. Prayer is essential for personal salvation," Bean said. "So many civilians are losing their lives, cemeteries are filling up."

Police say one of the biggest challenges they face is trying to get people to work with investigators.

"We have to have people willing to cooperate with filing charges for us to be able to investigate a crime so when we have people who have information who won't cooperate or we have victims who won't cooperate, it very difficult for us to do our job," Beaumont Police Officer Haley Morrow said. 

Community Activist Gary Hockless lost a friend in a shooting last year. He said the violence needs to end now, so he doesn't have to bury another friend. 

"It's got to stop, this is what's taking our generation out nowadays, black on black crime," Hockless said. "We got to stop." 

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