Neighbors react to latest Sioux Falls shooting on S. Willow Ave

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The latest shooting in Sioux Falls rocked neighbors near the 3600 block of S. Willow Avenue Wednesday morning. The incident shook the local neighborhood, with many wondering why this happened. However some say it’s only another knot on a string of crime and incidents that have happened in the area.

MORE: Police: Woman dead after standoff at Sioux Falls apartment

Law enforcement and SWAT teams were on the street before many residents on the street even knew what was going on. Jeff Kurtz and his roommate, Sam Heckmann, live in the apartment below from where the eventual standoff occurred. Both were still getting ready for their days when law enforcement evacuated their building.

“We heard a loud bang. Didn’t really think too much of it We weren’t really sure what it was, if somebody had fallen, didn’t really know where it came from.,’ Kurtz said. “You see the news often, and it just seems like so much stuff goes on. You never think it’s going to be you, until you have an officer with an assault rifle knocking on your door telling you to get out. So it’s definitely a weird feeling. It’s kind of like an adrenaline rush at first.”

Kurtz and Heckmann spent the rest of the morning with their building neighbors across the street, waiting for the standoff to end and get back on with their lives. Both said they had to call their employers to make sure they knew what was going on.

Meanwhile across the street, Elly Richardson didn’t know what was going on until a friend messaged her. She lives with her husband and their two sons across the street, and said this is only another incident that makes her uncomfortable to be living in the neighborhood.

“It’s scary being in my own neighborhood with little kids of my own. I have a dog of my own. My oldest takes my dog out to walk out here during the day. I don’t know if I’m going to let them do that any more. We’re thinking about moving to a small town because this is a little bit too close to home.” Richardson said.

Richardson fears that something like this will happen again in the area, maybe next time much closer to them. For now, she’s just hoping that things will calm down with something so sad happening nearby.

“You know, maybe I’ll tell my husband, ‘What if that was our neighbors?’ It’s very likely situation,” Richardson said. “I’m still shaking from that. It was way too close.”

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