Friday, September 11, 2015

Highway shootings


All the publicity about the shootings (if that's what they are) on I-10 in Phoenix, AZ has obscured the fact that 'Car shootings were reported in Akron, Cleveland, Cincinnati, North Carolina, Arizona and Michigan beginning July 29'.

In Cleveland, an officer reported that someone shot at his police van about 11:30 p.m. Saturday as he drove along St. Clair Avenue between East 140th and East 148th streets. The officer reported hearing two shots fired.

Other incidents include:

  • Shortly before midnight on Sunday, a car was shot by someone traveling in another car as they drove along Interstate 75, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Three people were shot, including one who was severely injured from shots fired from a rifle. The passengers in the car were on their way to a nightclub, according to police. Police have not made any arrests.
  • In southwestern Michigan, at least five cars were struck by what investigators believe were bullets from between July 29 and Aug. 21, CNN reported. Most of those shootings — on Interstate 94 and Interstate 69 in Calhoun County — happened during the daytime, according to WOOD Channel 8 in Grand Rapids. No one was injured, but police believe the shootings are related.
  • In Durham, North Carolina, a man was shot in his torso about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, according to WRAL-TV. A woman riding in the passenger seat was shot in the leg.
  • In East Charlotte, North Carolina, a man driving about 6 p.m. Saturday was shot. The man told WSOC-TV that the shooter's car swerved up behind his car, then fired one shot that hit his car.
  • In Phoenix, Arizona, someone shot at four cars driving on Interstate 10, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. All four shootings happened from Saturday to Monday. A 13-year-old girl suffered a cut to her right ear but no one else was injured.

There's more at the link.

Take care on the roads, please, people.  There are bad, crazy people out there.

Peter

7 comments:

Ben C said...

A couple years back, there was somebody shooting across the median at oncoming traffic in the Detroit area. Just picking random cars and taking shots.

I believe the caught the guy, but don't fully recall and can't look it up from here.

Cedar said...

Ah! That one in Cincy is right down the road from us, and I drive that way for school weekly.

CarlS said...

"If that's what they are"

Care to expand on that?

Peter said...

@CarlS: You'll note that the Phoenix cops are being very circumspect about 'projectile damage', not saying for sure whether it's caused by a gun or something else. I've seen similar hesitancy in a couple of other reports. It might be some mischievous idiot with a catapult, or something like that. On the other hand, some of the incidents are clearly firearms, such as that in Cincinnati.

Dontbug said...

Cleveland police have been known to confuse a car backfiring as someone shooting at them.

Scott said...

In Phoenix, a few hits have been verified as bullets, but there have been several hits that failed to penetrate sheet metal or even glass - looks like pellet gun or slingshot.

Typical Arizona commuter response...

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd178/WRMorrison/misc/IMG_20150911_155440887_zpsbnbg9ao9.jpg

Anonymous said...

I saw reports of this type of thing in San Antonio as well. The story disappeared pretty quickly though. Not sure why but the areas where this was reported are near major tourist attractions. Regardless, I bypassed San Antonio on a road trip last weekend.