JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Southwest Jackson community attended an emergency meeting on Monday after three recent shootings in the area.

One shooting occurred in the Brookhollow neighborhood on July 10. Three suspects were arrested in connection to that case for shooting into an occupied home.

Jackson City Councilman Brian Grizzell, Ward 4, said the recent shootings have come close to being classified as mass shootings. Neighbors said they’re concerned about safety, police response times and the difficultly in reaching 911 dispatchers due to high call volumes.

“We were on lockdown for two hours! Me and the kids that were at daycare. They should’ve responded faster than what they did!” said a Jackson daycare owner.

Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said the department is overworked and most of the issues circle back to conflict amongst gangs in the capital city.

“We have a gang problem. For five, six years, we denied it. It didn’t happen. Jackson don’t have a gang problem. Yes, we do. We have identified over 30 gangs here in the City of Jackson. Over 30. They didn’t just get here over night. It took years of us stating that we didn’t have a gang problem for it to grow and grow and grow,” the police chief said.

Wade said it takes a collective effort by Jackson police, Capitol police, the capital city and Hinds County to address these problems and to hold troubled youth accountable.

Grizzell encouraged South Jackson residents to join the Association of South Jackson Neighborhoods to help build a better relationship within the community.