Spokane leaders looking for solutions to spike in shootings

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — After four people were wounded in two separate shootings in Spokane last weekend, civic leaders are looking to Police Chief Craig Meidl for answers to the city’s apparent rise in gun violence. Meidl is creating a new task force at Mayor Nadine Woodward’s request to deal with the spike in shootings. There were 40 shootings in Spokane in the first three months of 2022, according to the Spokane Police Department. That’s on pace to top the 151 shootings recorded last year. Eighteen of those 40 were classified as drive-by shootings, up from 10 over the same time period last year. Spokane Police recorded 91 shootings in 2020 and 52 in 2019.