THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 17, 1995 TAG: 9506170330
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Five people were shot outside an apartment building in the London Oaks area Friday night, but none of them appeared to have sustained life-threatening injuries, police said.
The victims - one aged 39, one 23, two 20 and one 19 - were taken to Maryview Medical Center, where they were being treated late Friday. One man suffered gunshot wounds to his face and leg; the other four were injured by pellets from a shotgun blast.
The motive for the shootings was unclear, and police were still hunting several suspects.
``It's kind of hard to say whether it's drug related,'' said G.A. Brown, a police spokesman. But ``a small quantity of drugs was found in the vicinity . vicinity.''
Brown said officers on routine patrol heard multiple gunshots at 8:48 p.m. Simultaneously, calls began coming into the Police Department's dispatch center from area residents reporting that shots had been fired. Some callers said people were hit by bullets.
When officers arrived in the 1100 block of Virginia Ave., they found the five injured people.
Witnesses told investigators that between three and five men, all armed with handguns or shotguns, approached the victims and opened fire. It was unclear if any words were exchanged. The gunmen fled.
All the people who were injured were outside at the time; no one in the building was reported hurt.
While searching the area after the shooting, police found a small amount of crack cocaine.
At the hospital, police said one of the victims had given investigators information that may help identify one or some of the gunmen.
KEYWORDS: DRUGS ILLEGAL SHOOTING INJURIES by CNB