CAHOKIA HEIGHTS, Ill — Hundreds of shots were fired Saturday in Cahokia Heights, Illinois, and Camp Jackson Fire Station was caught in the middle of it, once again.
Assistant Fire Chief Sharon Davis said she was shaken and frustrated.
"Once or twice is an accident, but after that, they have to know what they're doing," she said.
Davis heard what she thought was somebody hammering on Saturday afternoon, but instead, it turned out to be gunfire and the bullets struck her station's building.
"It was literally probably 300 rounds, cars were stopping. There were people that were walking, and they were looking around trying to figure out where to go. The business across the street, they were shutting their bay doors," she said.
Davis said the shots went off for almost one hour, and police told her that neighbors in nearby homes even found shell casings on their porches.
"It's really scary when you don't know where it's coming from because I worry about our firemen. I worry about the community," she said.
That worry is starting to be coupled with discouragement.
According to Davis, this is the third time in 2024 her station has been the victim of gunfire, which is why lime green duct tape still acts as a band-aid over the last two strikes.
"New Year's Eve, we had the first window shot out. We just chalked that up to celebratory gunfire and then in January on a Tuesday, they shot out two more windows," she said.
Davis told 5 On Your Side the reason they had not fixed the broken windows prior is because it was happening so frequently. Then, she said, Saturday morning they were talking about replacing the windows since it hadn't happened in a while, but hours later that's when the station was struck again.
"We all figure that it's probably like target practice or something, and they just don't realize when they're missing or what they're hitting is ricocheting off and hitting us," she said.
For a volunteer fire department like Camp Jackson, Davis spoke about the the cost to repair the damage.
"We operate on very little budget, the fire department itself doesn't get much money, and we own this building, so we're responsible for any of the repairs," she said.
That's why Davis has one thing to say to those pulling the trigger.
"You own your bullet, you shoot it, it's going to go somewhere. Be responsible for where it goes," she said.
St. Clair County Sheriff's Department has been contacted and has not responded with a statement.
If you want to help the Camp Jackson Fire Department replace the broken windows, you can contact them here.