A man was shot five blocks north of the UA around 9 p.m. Monday.
After being shot in the back on North Fourth Avenue and East Lee Street, the victim was driven by a friend to North Fourth Avenue and East Speedway Boulevard, where he was dropped off on the northwest corner of the intersection, said Sgt. Jay Cross of the Tucson Police Department.
The man attempted tMan shot north of campus, tako cross the street diagonally and was eventually tended to by someone driving by. He was assisted to the southeast corner of the intersection, where paramedics loaded him into a waiting ambulance, Cross said.
The victim’s wounds were non-life threatening, and the bullet exited out of his lower abdomen. He was taken to a local hospital.
Police said the victim and another man got “”into a disagreement”” on Lee Street before the victim was shot.
The victim was Caucasian and between the ages of 25 and 30. Police said he was “”probably not”” a UA student.
TPD officers are currently searching for two vehicles associated with the shooting – one belonging to the shooter and the other belonging to the victim’s friend. Police are not releasing the vehicles’ descriptions, the victim’s name or where the victim is hospitalized.
Ryan, a 25-year-old man who refused to give his last name, lives next to the crime scene. Shortly before police arrived on the scene, he witnessed a white Jeep vehicle slowly pull out of the nearby alley, then turn quickly into his driveway, he said.
Once in Ryan’s driveway, a man exited the passenger side of the Jeep, crouched and hid next to Ryan’s truck. After the Jeep quickly sped away, the man started walking away from the crime scene, bent down and hid an unknown object in his shoe or near his ankle, Ryan said.
He described the man as Caucasian with a black, hooded sweatshirt and black pants. The Jeep looked brand new with a roll bar on top, Ryan said.
The story of crime and violence in the neighborhood is one becoming all too common for Kathleen Williamson, a former Pima County prosecutor who lives two houses away from the crime scene.
Williamson moved from New York City to Tucson to escape the crime, and it worked – for a while. However, when students and student housing started to dominate the area recently, crime dramatically increased, especially burglaries, she said.
“”The crime here in the past year has gone through the roof,”” she said. “”Police tell me that (the crime rate) is ridiculous.””
Since students do not typically stay in their rented homes for more than a semester or two, it is difficult for area residents to form neighborhood watch organizations, Williamson said.
The surrounding two-block area has seen five burglaries in recent months. Williamson’s home was burglarized late in the summer, leading her to question her and her neighbors’ safety.
“”I love this neighborhood, but this is getting real bad,”” Williamson said. “”I’m certainly more observant and cautious. I’m just going to have to be more careful.””
The shooting is at least the third in the UA area in as many weeks. Two would-be intruders were shot dead by a UA student, who was a former Marine, on Oct. 16 at East Adams Street and North Tyndall Avenue. A gunman shot at a UA student near Old Main on Oct. 20. Three suspects were later arrested in association with the incident.
Police would not release any other information at the scene of Monday’s shooting.
The Daily Wildcat will continue to update the incident as information is uncovered.