A man who shot a 36-year-old man just north of the UA campus is still on the loose, as police monitor the health of the victim at University Medical Center.
The victim sustained non-life threatening injuries after being shot in the back on North Fourth Avenue and East Lee Street on Monday shortly before 9 p.m. The bullet exited the victim’s abdomen, leaving a large pool of blood before the Tucson Fire Department transported the man to UMC, said a uniformed field sergeant at the crime scene.
Although the Tucson Police Department could not share information about the suspect at large, a witness at the scene said that police told him they know who the shooter is, but have yet to locate him.
TPD has not formally interviewed the victim yet, as detectives are waiting until he recovers more from the shooting, said Mark Robinson, public information officer for TPD.
The victim was at a relative’s house when other people showed up. An argument ensued, and an undetermined number of shots were fired on the street, with one of the shots hitting the victim, Robinson said.
“”I don’t know if they were friends or acquaintances or if they had business dealings,”” he said. “”It’s not believed that this would be random.””
Richard Scardina, a resident who lives next to the scene, heard the altercation and called police.
“”I was just sitting up at my desk doing some homework, and one of my roommates and I both heard arguing outside,”” said the finance junior. “”All of a sudden, we heard this loud bang, like a car blew up outside.””
Neighbors then began calling Scardina, asking him if he had heard the gunshots. He then looked outside to investigate.
“”I heard someone moaning outside, and I split open my sliding door, and I just heard him and he said, ‘I’m dying, I’m dying,'”” Scardina said. “”And that’s when I realized what happened and I called the police.””
After the victim left the scene, he could see the remnants of what had disrupted the neighborhood.
“”There’s actually his blood on our driveway, and there’s also small intestine on the front of the house where he was shot,”” Scardina said.
After the victim was shot, a friend loaded him into a truck on the way to a hospital. The victim voluntarily got out of the truck at East Speedway Boulevard and North Fourth Avenue and stumbled across the intersection before a passerby stopped to help, said Sgt. Jay Cross of TPD.
TPD is currently not releasing the victim’s name, but said that he is not a UA student.
The crime in the neighborhood around the small gathering of student homes known as The Village is getting out of hand and instilling fear in the residents, Scardina said.
When the students moved into their homes at the beginning of the semester, police warned them of the crime rates, he said.
Just this semester, Scardina has called the police four times: a stolen car, a break-in, gunshots in the distance and Monday night’s shooting.
“”Personally, my roommates and I have thought about moving or doing something,”” Scardina said. “”(Residents) are scared as hell, and they’re all thinking about moving out of here too.””
