According to the 1130 WISN news website, there have been hundreds of overdoses and dozens of deaths from heroin in the city of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The city was also nicknamed to be the heroin capital of Wisconsin. There have also been striking amounts of abuse and other violent crimes with the outcome of injecting and snorting heroin.

“There is really a bad problem with heroin in Oconomowoc,” says Oconomowoc resident, Bobbie Bradshaw. “The problems are really bad and I am always hearing about fatal accidents or crimes happening from people getting high on heroin. There have been car accidents, beatings, family abuse. It is a really bad problem that is happening daily.”

12 News reported that a man was under the influence of heroin and beat his girlfriend for 90 minutes without stopping. The man was arrested and the girlfriend was rushed to the hospital in fatal condition. 12 News also reported a son was high on heroin and shot his dad, almost killing him.

“These crimes seems almost too bad to be real, happening in a seemingly good neighborhood,” says Oconomowoc resident, Mike Hortherman. “I live right in town and always hear the ambulances and police rushing somewhere nearby. Around four months ago, I was told by my neighbor that he had to call the police after a party got out of control. It turns out that after a boy was not getting up, they discovered he was overdosing on heroin. The paramedics did a really good job rushing him out to the hospital.”

Drug usage rates have been slowly increasing since the price of heroin became cheaper. With the heroin being cheap, the users are able to buy more and people who might not have been able to afford it previously are now able to do so. It is much more accessible than it ever has been.

“I don’t even know what I would do if my sons were doing heroin,” says Bradshaw. “It leads to nothing good and will either kill you or land you a cot in prison. These drugs are a very serious problem especially since the price became very affordable. This is because of how much of it is out there right now. It is very easy especially with kids to get their hands on heroin.”

“Heroin is very dangerous and seems to lead to some very dangerous crimes,” says Hortherman. “It’s bad enough that people are doing one of the most dangerous drugs out there but now it makes them act very violently. People will do literally anything just to get a fix. I’ve seen violence happen just purely from being that desperate for their fix. This is dangerous stuff.”

Oconomowoc has a neighborhood watch where the residents in the neighborhood are advised to report any suspicious behavior to the police. The residents are advised to work together with problems and accidents to get things under control as soon as possible.

“I think the residents are really good with knowing when the right time is to call the police,” says Hortherman. “The police respond very quickly Hortherman and they always do a good job with drug overdoses. I think that a good message to get across to anyone is that heroin and other drugs like that are very dangerous. If you are ever in a tough time, don’t turn to something that could make you feel good for a moment. Turn to something that will always make you feel good. Drugs are never worth your health, time, or money.”