Some Oklahoma City hotels see dramatic rise in crime during 2024
The city said they are taking steps to help clean up Oklahoma City hotels that have seen a rising crime problem.
The city said they are taking steps to help clean up Oklahoma City hotels that have seen a rising crime problem.
The city said they are taking steps to help clean up Oklahoma City hotels that have seen a rising crime problem.
What can be done to clean up Oklahoma City hotels that have seen a rising crime problem?
Multiple different shootings have occurred at different hotels across Oklahoma City in recent weeks, but they are only a small part of the larger picture.
KOCO 5 obtained the calls for service throughout the past few years at the Lincoln Inn Hotel. Those calls nearly doubled in the past year, and places like the Biltmore Hotel are seeing a steady increase as well.
Joel Rodriguez's sister is still mourning the loss of her brother, the latest victim who died at the Lincoln Inn Hotel.
"All I could do is just cry. This isn't something that would've happened to my brother," Gabriela Vanhook Rodriguez, the victim's sister, said.
The 28-year-old was found shot to death on the second floor of the hotel. Police are still looking for two out of the four suspects in the case.
"What kind of people would do this?" Vanhook Rodriguez said.
Data from the Oklahoma City Police Department showed officers have been called to the Lincoln Inn 236 times so far this year, an increase from the 202 calls that were placed in 2023.
"Definitely attracts some vagrants and homeless in those hotels. Seem to be a magnet for those people," said Tim Shoopman, manager of H&H Shooting Sports near the Biltmore Hotel at Interstate 40 and Meridian Avenue.
Just days after Rodriguez's death, another man was found shot dead outside of his car at the Biltmore Hotel.
That case is one out of the 461 times officers were called there this year alone. That's on track for an increase from last year's 500 calls.
Last year, Oklahoma City successfully shut down the Plaza Inn, a hotel with similar call numbers.
Oklahoma City Assistant City Manager Lawshawn Thompson spoke about the uptick in crime at these locations.
"It's concerning. I want to let the residents know, our visitors know, that we take these matters very seriously. We're going to do our part to ensure any establishment or any business that you visit, our citizens, our residents, their safety is in mind," Thompson said.
While she said she couldn't go into specifics, the city said it is working to address the issues by working with places that they deem nuisances.
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"Let's say that we have a business that has some ongoing issues or criminal activity that's occurring at the establishment. We work with the property owners to abate those concerns, to abate those issues, to abate those nuisances. It could be, you know, hire additional security," Thompson said.
All of the methods are to stop what happened to Rodriguez from happening to anybody else.
"I just want justice for my brother. That's what I want," Vanhook Rodriguez said.
Both the Biltmore Hotel and the Lincoln Inn declined to comment.
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