CARBONDALE (WSIL)---When it comes to gun violence in the Carbondale area, the research is still fairly new.
The research began at the beginning of the summer, and comes from compiling data from police, EMS, and the community.
So far, the focus is on the timing and frequency of shootings, geographic patterns, environmental conditions, and levels of reporting.
Researcher Tammy Kochel, who is an Associate Dean at SIU's College of Health and Human Sciences, said by identifying the specific causes and patterns of the shootings in Carbondale will be more beneficial in creating a solution.
"This is a public health issue. But finding solutions that can have an immediate short term impact on the nature of the problem, I think, is something that we should focus on while these incidents are happening at such a high level. Tailoring our solution, say for example in Carbondale, to the nature of the problem happening here will not only be the most cost effective, but the most effective in general," said Kochel.Â
Early findings of the data find that more shooting incidents happen at the beginnings and endings of semesters.Â
