Local businesses wary after weekend shoot-out injures 8 people
Posted: Jul 06, 2015 5:08 PM CST
Updated: Jul 06, 2015 5:50 PM CST
By Erin Buchanan
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTBS) -
It's a ongoing problem many Shreveport residents have long battled.
"There was a whole bunch of cars, a whole bunch of people and a whole bunch of madness," says Francine Parnell, an employee at Service Tire Inc. on Hearne Avenue.
Large crowds gathering in one spot, driving slowly through an area, sometimes called "cruising."
It's usually just a nuisance, but this time it turned violent.
"There's bullet holes in our windows and such so we don't know when it exactly happened," Parnell says, pointing at the side of building.
"Shots rang out, we're not sure who began firing first," says Shreveport Police Cpl. Marcus Hines.
He says between 300 and 400 people were gathered around 2 a.m. Sunday at two adjacent parking lots in the 3500 block of Hearne Avenue, a known hotspot for late night loitering.
"Upwards of 60 to 70 plus rounds of spent shell casings were recovered so we do know that there was a large number of shots fired during this incident," he says.
Eight people were wounded, including two 16-year-old girls, though detectives don't believe they were necessarily the intended targets.
However, it's not clear what sparked the gunfire, and police are having trouble getting witnesses to open up.
"We're not going to stop because someone does not want to speak to us. We're going to continue to move forward with the investigation."
It's a frustrating scenario for investigators, Hines says, because the shooters are still on the loose.
"We still have our detectives working throughout the day, throughout the night, just to gather more information."
Meanwhile, businesses in the area say they'd like to see stepped up patrols in order to prevent this from happening again.
"It was chaos," Parnell says. "There was no police to be found anywhere and I wish they would take care of the area better and stuff like this wouldn't happen. It's been going on for years."
The victims ranged in age from 16 to 22, and all are expected to survive, though some of the injuries are considered serious.
Hines says a firearm was recovered from the scene Sunday morning, along with dozens of spent shell casings.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to leave an anonymous tip for Caddo Crime Stoppers at (318) 673-7373.
