Guam - Three people have been arrested and two others remain at large in connection with an early morning rape of a woman in Dededo. This latest case has more and more residents concerned about their safety and one elected official exasperated about what it will take to get more police presence in her village.

Just before 4:30 Monday morning a Dededo resident called police to report a rape in progress. "I'm in shock because here how else can we protect our community?" said Dededo mayor Melissa Savares. The incident that happened just behind her office at Lencho Park. 

KUAM News has learned that a 24-year-old woman was walking home from a relative's house when she was approached by five men who reportedly held her down, and beat and raped her.  Officers arrived on the scene just minutes after the call and were able to nab three of the five suspects.  Police arrested Mijorichy Rubante, Francis Madeus, and Jose White Longa on charges of 1st and 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct, conspiracy, assault, and felonious restraint, among others.  "What is it going to take for us to be safe in our community? To hear about this rape, I'm really distressed because my people, my residents, come out that early in the morning to stay fit," the mayor added.

Savares says many of her residents are up early in the morning to exercise or attend mass and her staff stay up late at night to check the parks around the village. She added, "What are going to be our priorities? I'm going to see continued problem every week, whether it be rapes, young children, or older women, or older men?  Everybody's a victim here. Is it going to continue to be our residents? What can we do to assure safety?"

Savares is frustrated saying the five police officers assigned to the Dededo Precinct with four police cars is hardly enough to patrol the streets and make anyone in her overpopulated village feel safe. "What is going on? I understand the shortage of personnel but are we going to jeopardize the safety of our people because we don't have enough people?," she stated.

Savares says on Christmas Eve two boys went to get their hair cuts at the mall and as they were walking home, they were stabbed on the sidewalk.  "What is it going to take to keep our people safe?" she asked.

Police Chief Fred Bordallo meanwhile says the department is in the process of hiring more officers and has been augmenting with additional manpower, telling KUAM News, "But what we've done is we've adjusted schedules and we've put out a task force to be out there in particular high volumes of calls to be augmenting and helping with calls."

"It's not just the Guam Police Department alone. The community has to come forward to, they're our partners," said the chief.

The department currently has eight police officer trainees and 12 GG1s are pending with the candidates to undergo drug testing.  Bordallo says the department will put out an announcement for another 36 positions in the coming weeks as GPD anticipates having two police cycles graduate before the end of the year.