A second suspect has been arrested in relation to last Wednesday’s shooting at the Bio5 building on the UA campus.
Jahron Davis Francis, 29, turned himself in to the Pima County Jail late Tuesday morning where he was booked for aggravated robbery.
This second arrest comes after Monday’s arrest of Christopher Eugene, 29, on three felony charges including two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of aggravated robbery, according to a UAPD press release on Monday. UAPD, in conjunction with the Tucson Police Department SWAT team, arrested Eugene at his home without incident.
UAPD issued a UAlert about a report regarding shots fired near the BIO5 building on the night of April 27. The building is home to UA researchers and is in close proximity to the Banner — Health University Medical Center.
UAPD was able to gather evidence and determine Eugene’s involvement as the individual responsible for the shooting, according to the press release. Eugene and the victim have no affiliation with the university.
UAlert text messages and emails on the night of the shooting described a “person of interest” as a 5-foot-10 man wearing a Chicago Bulls hat with spiky hair, a white shirt, khaki pants and a tan backpack.
That person of interest was found at a local hospital later that night, according to a UAPD Clery Timely Warning Notice sent to all students the Thursday after the shooting.
The 23-year-old man sought assistance at approximately 9 p.m. Wednesday night for a non-life threatening gunshot wound in his buttocks, according to the notice. The victim was treated and released the following morning.
Police ended up identifying the wounded man as the person of interest described in Wednesday night’s UAlert messages.
The victim told UAPD that he had ridden the Sun Link Tucson Modern Streetcar to the Warren Avenue stop, directly across the street from the BIO5 building and Roy P. Drachman Hall. He was then approached by three African-American men, one of whom then shot at the victim, striking him once in the buttocks, according to the notice.
The three suspects then fled in a “dark-colored SUV,” according to the victim.
Officers on the scene found bullet casings and blood near the Thomas W. Keating BioResearch building on the night of the shooting, according to Officer Rene Hernandez, public information officer for UAPD.
Until later in the evening—closer to 9 p.m. — officers had not located a victim.
“We are currently trying searching for who that blood belongs to,” Hernandez said the night of the shooting, adding that there had been no reports of gunshot victims from the nearby Banner — Health University Medical Center.
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