A helicopter patrols the city on Saturday evening

Scenes of the shooting and fire on the unit block of Lewis Avenue in East Lansdowne on February 7, 2023. Philadelphia Police helicopter flies overhead as the sun sets. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)

A state police helicopter watches Allentown from the sky Saturday evening as part of an enhanced patrol in conjunction with the city.

Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca announced the patrol in a Facebook post shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday.

“I wanted to let you know that you may have noticed a helicopter flying over the city this evening,” Roca said in his message. “As part of our ongoing efforts to improve public safety, we have partnered with the Pennsylvania State Police and have their helicopter unit assisting us tonight, as well as a contingent of troopers.”

Roca said enhanced patrols between city and state police will continue this summer in an effort to “make our community safer.”

“I am grateful to the PSP and our officers who work together to hold accountable individuals who choose to engage in criminal activity,” Roca said.

Roca did not say what precipitated the increased patrol, but it comes days after a Thursday afternoon shooting left a boy near North Nagle and Allen streets injured. The boy was taken to the hospital and his injuries are not life-threatening, police said.

Earlier this month, a 25-year-old Allentown man was killed in a shooting in Fountain Park. Angel Martinez-Velez was shot multiple times around 6:30 p.m. on June 1, in what Mayor Matt Tuerk called a “terrible and preventable act of violence.”

Two men have been charged in connection with the shooting.

Saturday’s patrol isn’t the first time a state police helicopter flying over the city has drawn attention. In August 2019, one of them participated in a two-hour search for suspects “involved in the serious incidents that have hit our city over the past few months,” said then-Mayor Ray O’ Connell.