After five shootings in the past week in Sanford, police are looking for help connecting the dots, and activists are rallying for the community to unite.

“It’s heart-wrenching to sit there and have a conversation with someone who just lost their son," Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said. "So I ask the people who are out there, if this happened to you, would you want your friends to do the same thing? To remain silent?"

Violence swept through the city this week: Five shootings, three of which were drive-bys over the weekend with no reports of injuries.

On Monday, a 16-year-old high Winter Springs High School basketball player was shot in the head while sleeping.

Then, Thursday night turned deadly, as Toby Martin was shot and killed in a backyard.

But Smith said that crime is down in Sanford. This was a bizarre week, and the shootings may or may not be connected, he said. Investigators have not determined whether they were drug- or gang-related incidents.

“I think we have a couple of factions in town, some of which have been here for years and years and years," Smith said.

Regardless of how the crimes fit together, activists in the community want neighbors to come together.

“We’ve got a problem. A serious problem. And the only way we can combat it is people joining forces," Oscar Redden said. “You don’t know who or why these shootings happen, or what’s going on, (or) some kind of feud. All I know is, we've got to work on this problem. It’s an epidemic. We've got to fight right now.”


Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith addresses the recent shootings in the city Friday, Nov. 3, 2017. He says crime is actually down in Sanford, and this past week has been an anomaly. (Julie Gargotta, staff)

It was 18 years ago, after his own struggle overcoming addiction, that Redden started Brothers Keepers, an organization to help others recover and reintegrate into society.

But, Redden never left Sanford. And he's determined to make it better.

“I love this community. I love Sanford," he said. “I’m 71 years old. I’m willing to step up and say, 'We need to work together.' The road we’re on is a destructive road.”

The latest shooting Thursday night, which left Redden "sickened" and "sad," happened in Redden's own neighborhood of Georgetown. A vigil was planned to remember the 28-year-old who died.

Police expressed frustration that those involved have been uncooperative, no one coming forward to help them solve the crimes.

But, Redden said that police need to convince neighbors they’ll be safe if they come forward.

“It’s a snitch when it’s my kid or somebody else’s kid. But when it’s your kid laying down there in a pool of blood, then ... you should be a concerned citizen," he said. “It ain’t no snitch when you’re trying to heal a community and save a community.”

Now, Sanford has to work harder to combat the violence.

“Everywhere has got problems. We can’t do this individually; we must be united to fight this problem," Redden said.

The police chief said the agency has have developed an action plan, increasing patrols in Washington Oaks, Georgetown and Goldsboro, despite there being no incident there.

They’re also working with a task force, comprised of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Attorney's Office, Seminole County State Attorney's Office and federal allies at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

And although police have not made any arrests in connection to the shootings, they have arrested two men, ages 19 and 24, on charges related to a stolen black Mercedes-Benz that could be connected.