Gun fire erupts in downtown St. Joseph
Photo by Todd Weddle / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo
The sound of a gun fired in the air scrambled police officers to a downtown parking lot Wednesday. Officers rushed to a parking lot across Felix from an addiction treatment centerat about 9:25 a.m. Wednesday.
Veteran officer Richard Woodley arrived on the scene spotting a white male and black male walking across Felix Street.
“Get down on the ground,” Mr. Woodley said as he drew and aimed his pistol.
Mr. Woodley repeated the order several times before the men complied. “The two men had their backs to me and didn’t appear to be paying any attention,” he said. “They may not have noticed I was there.”
Mr. Woodley hadn’t turned on his squad car lights or siren. As he repeated the orders, he continued walking toward a white male, who was wearing a striped golf shirt and blue jeans and the black male, who had dreadlocks, stood about 5 feet, 11 inches and weighed about 300 pounds. Both men were taken into custody. The black male was transported to the Law Enforcement Center. Officers released the white male a few minutes later.
Police officers recovered a hand gun from the trunk of a red Chevrolet and found six shell casings lying on the ground at the rear of the car. Several people in the downtown area had reported hearing multiple shots fired.
According the white male, the incident may have begun Tuesday evening.
"I made a mistake," the white male told a News-Press reporter. He added that he'd seen the black male at the Family Guidance Center for Behavioral Healthcare's Addiction Treatment Center, 917 Felix St., that evening and sensed that the black male needed rehabilation help. Then Wednesday morning, the two ran into each other again at a local gas station and the white male convinced the black male to accompany him to the Family Guidance Center.
"I didn't know he had a gun," the white male said.
After the shots were fired, the white male said he struggled with the black male and took the gun away because he "didn't want to see anyone hurt." That's when the white male allegedly tossed the weapon in the trunk of his vehicle.
Police released the red Chevrolet and allowed the white male to leave the area.
Moments before police arrived, the two men had a tussle in the parking lot, shoving each other. Then the white male walked to the red car and threw something in the trunk. Police later recovered a weapon from the trunk.
Police are still investigating and additional details are expected to released.
This story has 15 comments. Click here to join in on the discussion.
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Where did our comments go? Usually if the news press deletes one, it'll show that it was deleted.
Posted by 4wildones on July 23, 2008 at 11:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)And you can't even see any of the comments on some of the other stories....What's the deal?
Posted by suzyQ on July 23, 2008 at 11:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)Thank goodness this resolved without injuries, or turned into a tragedy like the one Frederick years ago. I appreciate those who put their lives on the line to help keep us safe. Thank you!
Posted by njones60 on July 23, 2008 at 12:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)You're right Suzy Q, this could have ended badly. This officer seemed to maintain his cool. Maybe the white guy was telling the truth, but come on... "honest officer, I was just here to help. Join me in some bible study, won't you?" Still think it sounds fishy that they let the white guy go and arrested the black guy. Who knows, I wasn't there, but I would think if I wrestled a gun away from someone, we wouldn't be strolling down the street together when the police arrived.
Posted by Expatriate on July 23, 2008 at 12:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)"...spotting a white and black male walking..."
Huh? A zebra on the loose in downtown St. Joe?
Posted by rickygipson on July 23, 2008 at 1:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)njones60 - the story was updated to include the answer to your question. therefore your comment and the other comment that were posted were no longer relevant to the article and would've caused confusion for later readers. instead of making it look like you posted something offensive i just completely got rid of the comment. sorry for any confusion.
4wildones - i'm not sure what you're talking about. if you have any specifics can you email them to me at rickygipson@npgco.com.
Expatriate - fixed ;)
Posted by njones60 on July 23, 2008 at 2:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)Gotcha, thanks Ricky. I think 4wildones may be referring to the comments on the "Police Officer Involved in Accident" story. At least that's the one I noticed didn't have comments.
Posted by wickedtruth on July 23, 2008 at 2:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)And now Family Guidance is moving two blocks from my house. I used to work right next door to their current location and we had problems with their patients constantly. I just can't wait for this to be in my neighborhood now! Thank God no one was hurt and good job to the officer. I agree that the story of the white man is questionable. Maybe there's more to it. Why would he deposit the black man's gun in his own car trunk? And then take a stroll down the street? Bizarre.
Posted by deb2007 on July 23, 2008 at 2:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)i think the shooting took place across from the rehab place because i still work next to family guidance and i didn't hear any gunshots.
Posted by heritage on July 23, 2008 at 2:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)i agree that this certainly sounds funny. why release the white guy on just his "say so" ? that does not sound quite kosher.
Posted by deb2007 on July 23, 2008 at 3:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)ok i know this is bad: tried to make him go to rehab he said no no no. sorry i had to get that out.
Posted by wickedtruth on July 23, 2008 at 4:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)OKAY! Who let Amy Winehouse in here?!
Posted by dalearch on July 23, 2008 at 4:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)If I had just taken a gun away from a 300 pound black man who had been shooting it I too would lock it in my trunk to keep him from getting a hold of it again.
Posted by Eysa on July 23, 2008 at 7:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)Shootings are random at best. I don't think you can blame any business that was in the area. Unfortunately, it seems to be the society we live in. People are shot/shoot pretty much anywhere. It's a sad reality.
Posted by thatguy on July 24, 2008 at 5:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)Maybe we should just round up all the people that need help and ship them off to a remote island and let them go to rehab there.
That way we can heighten our false sense of security a little more.
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