ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 31, 1996 TAG: 9612310128
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY STAFF WRITER
An unidentified man was shot to death in Southwest Roanoke late Monday night.
Neighbors said gunfire is an everyday event in the neighborhood.
The first officer to respond to the 10:50 p.m. call reached the 1300 block of Chapman Avenue in less than a minute. He found a man, already dead, lying face down on the sidewalk with a significant head wound, Roanoke police Lt. W.J. Beason said.
The body was in front of some concrete steps leading up to a two-story house. A woman who lives in the house said she was in her bedroom watching TV when she heard four gunshots.
"My husband heard the shots and went to the window and saw a white car go flying up the street towards Patterson Avenue," said the woman, who did not want to be identified. "We knew it was a gun.''
"I just can't believe someone got shot in front of my house. We've never had problems here before, as far as someone trying to harm you. It's horrible," she said.
Freddie Crouse, who has been living in the house next door for 16 years, was in bed when he heard the gunshots.
"You hear shots up here every night, but you don't hear about anyone getting killed," Crouse said. The man found on the sidewalk was the first person to be killed on the street in the last 10 to 15 years, according to Crouse.
An 18-year-old, who also did not want to be identified, lives in the 1500 block of Campbell Avenue. Hearing the shots, he looked in time to see a car drive away.
"I heard it plain as day. It sounded like it was at my back door. I only heard three [gunshots] and it was real quick, faster than you can count," he said. "Ten to one he was just walking up the street. Anyone can get shot here."
"It don't surprise no one that someone would be shot around here. It's a shame," the 18-year-old said.
The man was not carrying identification, though police believe he was an adult. "We are making efforts to identify him tonight. If we can't, we'll take fingerprints tomorrow," Beason said.
The killing comes three days after two men were found shot to death in another Southwest neighborhood.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: NHAT MEYER Staff Roanoke Police watch as an unidentifiedby CNBman's body is removed by paramedics near the corner of 13th Street
and Chapman Avenue early this morning. color. KEYWORDS: ROMUR