Residents of one Middletown neighborhood feel on edge after a wave of deadly crimes has swept through their area over the last two years.

The latest in the string of murders was the fatal stabbing of Antonio Acevedo, who police say was attacked in the La Perla Escondida restaurant parking lot off Wickham Avenue.

In 2006, Fermina Nunez was shot to death in her beauty salon in the same building as La Perla Escondida.

In April, Robert Kwiatkowski was fatally stabbed at the corner of Wickham and Wisner avenues as he was walking home, and in August, Robert Unterman was gunned down at Prince and Montgomery streets off Wickham Avenue.

Marcia Watson is tired of violence in Middletown. Her own son was shot in the face two years ago.

?I thought I was going to lose my son,? she says.

Watson's son survived, but she wonders how many other lives will be lost in the dangerous streets.

Middletown police say they are responding to the violence. The department has recently created a new street crimes unit and stepped up patrols in the area.