Columbus police are investigating two shootings that occurred over the weekend that they believe are connected.
Officers first received a call about shots fired at the intersection of 14th Avenue North and Waterworks Road at about 5:40 p.m. Friday, said Police Chief Fred Shelton. Upon arrival at the scene, however, officers did not find a shooter or victim.
At about the same time, Shelton said, 911 received a call about a white, four-door vehicle that had run off Bluecutt Road. When officers arrived at that scene, they found a man suffering from gunshot wounds. The vehicle also had bullet holes, and the victim had a weapon.
“It appeared that he was trying to get himself to the hospital,” Shelton said.
Initially, an ambulance took the victim to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, and he was later flown to another in-state hospital for further treatment. Meanwhile, Shelton said, officers had gone back to the area where shots were reported near Waterworks Road and found shell casings.
Then on Saturday, officers received another call about shots fired, this time in the 1500 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at about 1 p.m., Shelton said. In that case, a shooter had apparently shot at an occupied vehicle parked on the side of the road. One person was shot, while four others who had been in the vehicle escaped, Shelton said.
He said one of the people in the vehicle “had knowledge (of) or was involved” in the Friday shooting.
Like the victim in Friday’s shooting, Shelton said the second victim was taken to a hospital in another part of the state for treatment. Both are still recovering, and investigators are hoping to talk with them early next week.
“We’re waiting until the victims get well enough to see if they can help us identify the suspects,” he said.
He added investigators are currently following other leads and have suspects, but they do not have enough evidence to arrest anyone so far.
“We’re still investigating the cases,” Shelton said.
Gun violence has increased this year in both Columbus and Starkville, as well as other parts of the country, with Columbus seeing as many as three shootings with injuries within 48 hours earlier this month. The Columbus City Council recently approved an emergency purchase of 12 surveillance cameras for placement around the city amid increasing concerns from citizens about crime, while city and county authorities have formed a community Crime Prevention Task Force to bring community members together and find different ways to deter crime.
Anyone with information on the two shootings may call Columbus Police Department at 662-244-3500 or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 800-530-7151.
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