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GREENSBORO — Residents of the neighborhood at Gillespie and Market streets say gunshots are frequent.

"We hear gunshots every other night," Stan Martin said, standing on the porch of his home Saturday.

He and neighbor Elie Vega said they were not shocked to hear gunshots early Friday evening.

What did surprise them was the number of police officers who came to the area to hunt for the gunman.

"I told my neighbor that it must have been a cop that got shot," Vega said.

He said only one or two squad cars would have responded to a typical shooting in the neighborhood.

Instead, more than 30 officers closed off streets and urged residents to stay in their homes Friday. Police searched the area by helicopter and with K9s after a police officer was shot and injured behind John's Curb Market at 2000 E. Market St.

Police searched for nearly eight hours before arresting Treymayne Dante Jackson, 22, of 1579 Lovette St. at 2 a.m. Saturday on Bingham Street.

Jackson is charged with attempted first-degree murder.

He is being held in the Guilford County jail under a $1 million secured bond.

A warrant lists Officer M.E. Merritt as the victim.

Police Capt. Gary Hastings would not confirm that Saturday.

"Names of the two officers involved will be released on Monday," Hastings said.

Vega and Martin said they rarely see police patrolling their neighborhood, although they and other home owners have complained about frequent break-ins, robberies and other crimes.

"We have the least amount of police presence in this area than the rest of Greensboro," Martin said.

Vega said, "Unfortunately, it takes a cop getting shot before (police) decide there's a problem."

Both men said if there were more of a police presence, some of the vagrants wouldn't stick around — people wouldn't pick up prostitutes, drug dealers wouldn't make drops and robbers would be too scared to pry open windows or doors.

"If there was a police presence, johns wouldn't stop," Vega said.

Both men said they bought their homes for their families about a year and a half ago based on the impression that police were working hard to cut down on crime in the area.

But none of those promises have come to pass, they say.

Residents in the area feel discouraged when they report suspicious activity and police don't do anything or respond a half-hour after residents call, Martin and Vega said.

"We're wasting our time telling them," Martin said.

"And we're risking our lives," said Vega about reporting problems to police.

He said he's afraid someone might get mad at a resident for "snitching."

Hastings said he thinks there is a lot of police presence in the neighborhood, although it may not appear so to residents.

There have been many incidents in the East Market Street corridor in the past few months, he said, and officers in the area are trying to suppress crime.

On Friday, two officers from the department's Tactical Special Enforcement Unit had approached the suspect shortly before the shooting, Hastings said.

The unit's goal is to curb drugs and robbery-related crimes.

As far as response times, he said, it depends on the number of calls the police department is handling at the time.

But that doesn't ease the minds of residents concerned about crime and the safety of their families.

Martin and Vega said they don't allow their children to venture too far from their own yards.

"It'll probably take a kid getting hurt" before something is done, Martin said.

"It's like we're living in the projects but with higher rent," Vega said.

Contact E.A. Seagraves at 883-4422, Ext. 241, or eseagraves@news-record.com