Security upped following Manito Park shooting

SPOKANE, Wash. — With the warm weather finally seeming to settle in, and school close to being done, It’s not unusual to see a few more Spokane Police patrol cars passing by Spokane’s parks, keeping an eye on the crowds.

“In the summer hours when the parks get busier and it’s nice in the evening patrols will always increase in the nighttime hours around the parks,” said Spokane Police officer Joshua Laiva.

But Manito Park will have even more security- part of its 90 acres is now a crime scene.

“I know there was a shooting at the park and some people were injured. I know it’s an ongoing investigation,” Laiva said.

The Spokesman Review reports that three people were treated for non-life threatening gunshot wounds following an incident near Mirror Pond on Saturday.

This is the second shooting at the popular park in less than a year. In August, a woman was shot in broad daylight. Laiva worked on that investigation.

“It’s just isolated incidents where people get together and bad things happened,” he said.

Still, it has neighbors concerned. With a busy, warm Memorial Day weekend coming up, SPD is not taking any chances. Thinking of hanging in the park after dark? Think again.

“The parks are all closed from 11 p.m. to five a.m. Anyone that’s caught in the park when it’s closed- that’s a $512 infraction. So it’s pretty steep,” Laiva said.

But, Laiva says SPD has just 100 patrol officers, and the whole city to cover. So they’re asking neighbors to help.

“Don’t be afraid to report something odd that you see. With the nice weather, we do get large groups coming into the park to enjoy the weather but if they’re there after hours that’s something that needs to be called in, and something that we can check on,” he said.

You can report suspicious activity by calling Crime Check at (509)-456-2233.

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