Lynchburg police probing string of shootings
A string of four shootings overnight Monday in Lynchburg injured one man and left several bullet holes in cars and a house.
Investigators are trying to determine if there is a link between the shootings, which all happened in just less than 10 hours from 5 p.m. Monday to about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Capt. Brandon Zuidema of the Lynchburg Police Department.
Whether there is a gang connection to any of the shootings is also under investigation.
The shootings are the latest incidents of multiple shots aimed at cars and houses in the city over the past three weeks.
The crimes have police investigators working long hours in search of suspects, and prompted this warning Tuesday from Police Chief Parks Snead to those who committed the crimes:
“Think twice, because you need to have 20 to life to spend (in prison),” he said. “You will be caught. You will be punished.”
The first incident Monday happened at 5 p.m. on the street in front of 108 Federal St. Two people were sitting in a car parked in front of that address when another vehicle, possibly a red older model Jeep Cherokee, pulled up beside the car, Zuidema said.
Someone got out of the Jeep and shot at the other car, hitting it several times, he said. No one was injured. The suspect vehicle left the scene and police are still searching for it.
Then, just before 10 p.m., police responded to what they believe to be a drive-by shooting in the 500 block of Chambers Street.
There, they found Michael Avon McMillan, 25, of Evington, with a gunshot wound to the face. He was transported to the UVa Medical Center.
Zuidema said investigators are trying to determine if McMillan was the intended target of the shooting; however, he said the shooting likely was not random.
Police responded again to 108 Federal St. around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday for reports of shots fired into a house. No one was reported injured.
Less than two hours later, just before 2:30 a.m., police said, numerous shots were fired in the 1000 block of Pierce Street. A vehicle parked in front of 1015 Pierce St. was shot multiple times, but no one was injured.
Zuidema said these have not been random acts of violence; the parties knew or knew of each other before the shootings.
“Unfortunately these are people who seem to be resorting to violence to resolve their conflicts,” he said.
Snead said police will know better how to prevent similar violence once investigators determine the circumstances surrounding the shootings.
Investigators hope to make at least one arrest today, Zuidema said.
“These are not predictable events,” Zuidema said. “We encourage our folks to be as visible as they can on patrol and to be concerned for their personal safety and that of the community. If these are four separate incidents, that’s troubling in one way, but it they are four related incidents that is troubling in another way.”
Zuidema said that while the shootings have been closer to the downtown area, they still have been spread across about one-third of the city, and the more densely populated portion at that.
Snead encouraged residents to pay attention to what is happening in their neighborhoods.
“Little problems can turn into big problems pretty quickly,” Snead said. “Pay attention to your personal safety and if you are aware of a suspicious situation, don’t keep it to yourself. Report it to the police. Be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.”
Investigators ask that anyone with information on these shootings call the Lynchburg Police Department’s (434) 455-6054 or Central Virginia Crime Stoppers at (888) 798-5900.
Reader Reactions
Imprimis - to paraphrase Art Linkletter, “poet says the darndest things”.
poet, you’re a piece of work, you are.
I said
“it might be a good idea to clean out the crack houses, drug dens, and gang hangouts? Or somebody might ask “Where were these people’s parents? Why didn’t their dad teach them better?““
And that’s it. Nothing about cultures, races, or anything else. Just drug use and broken families. And off you went on a tirade that exposes your racism, via “assumptions” that certain cultures do certain things, and if one talks about no dads and drug use, they MUST be referring to a specific race or culture.
That’s OK, it’s consistent with the way you think and write.
Now here comes Cutie Pie with “they won’t snitch” and “brainwashed into believing the cops are bad” and “street smart” and “thug life” ... and you don’t think there’s ANY racial implication at all about any of that? As a matter of fact, you give THOSE characterizations high praise?
Too much for me, mon. I an’ I, we’re off. Too much “poetic” hate and prejudice here for this boy.
Claire378 and Cutiepie, the both of you are right on point. I thank both of you.
Clare378 - I couldn’t agree more with the last of your post. So many kids say that they won’t “snitch”. I’ve heard it time and time again. They’ve distorted the meaning to the point that they won’t even tell someone that a person is threatening to harm others or themselves. To them, saying anything is bad, no matter what. Many of them are almost brainwashed it seems to belive that the cops are automatically bad, too and honestly, they aren’t. Cops are people just like anyone else, only they are sworn to do a job that many would never attempt to do or have the desire to do. If we’d work towards getting kids to realize that this mentality they have of not “snitching” or viewing law enforcement negatively, etc., is not the best approach, maybe we’d be able to get somewhere.
So many kids (regardless of their background and where they live) think they are bad and street-smart and many of them simply aren’t. They think they’re proving something by resorting to violence (with guns, knives, fists, whatever) to solve their issues. All they’re really doing is setting themselves up on a vicious spiral. So many kids seem to glamourize the so-called street life, thug life, etc. I’ve heard it called many things.
Lynchburg does have a gang problem and it needs to be dealt with. Lynchburg, like many other areas, has a drug problem. And Lynchburg, like other areas, has those with no gang affiliation who think that violence is the answer.
I’m also having a hard time buying that the City is trying to steer specific developments out to Timberlake, along with the “undesirables” you assert will inevitably follow. If I’m not mistaken, developers select where they would like to build, then go to Planning Commission and Council for approval, if required by zoning. Timberlake has more available land than other areas of the city and much of that land is already zoned as business, commercial, or mixed-use. As a developer looking to built a 100-unit apartment complex, would you go for a lot zoned commercial that is currently not being used, or would you pursue a lot zoned R-1? Furthermore, these housing developments get more credit for being on a bus line, something that Timberlake offers all the way out to Laxton Rd. Regardless, I do not believe that the City is actually contacting developers and business owners and saying, “Hey, we would really like to move the drug dealers from downtown out to Timberlake. Do you think you could help us out with that?“ Come on.
I think Lynchburg has realized that there is a gang problem, unlike some other large cities in the Hampton-Roads area, who refuse to have even one officer assigned. Regardless of whether the recent shootings are gang-related, the bigger issue in these communities is the idea of “snitching”. These kids have been indoctrinated to believe that if you report something illegal - even if you have nothing to do with it - that you are a “snitch”. If we could recondition them to see that reporting illegal activity is actually the hallmark of good citizenship, we might make some headway in getting crimes reported and getting criminals off the street.
You know what you sound like Kurt? The same thing a child does when they get caught red handed with their hand in the cookis jar.
but-but-but-but-I-I-I-I and then they go into this long winded diatribe about how they didn’t really do it.
You are clearly attempting to parse words and try to explain your way out of what you originaly said.
Here’s some 101 for you to use next time you try this.
Your words:
Posted by ( KurtVonnegut ) on April 07, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Gang hangouts? Crack houses? According to the city council, Lynchburg doesn’t have a gang or drug problem. The Lynchburg City Police gang unit is one police officer. It’s a sad joke. The plan now is to fix up downtown and push the “undesirables” towards Timberlake Rd
Straight from your mouth, not mine. You read Imp and his cheap shot implications about certain people and cultures and that was your opportunity to springboard into your nonsense about Undesireables in quotes, being pushed on to timberlake rd. We all know the quotes were there to make the word undesireabales stand out for a reason. Not a single word in that post about timberlake rd al ready having undesireables. That’s note worthy.
Next..your words:
It is no secret that City Council is trying to “revitalize” downtown. As Imprimis stated, it is difficult to do that with the current gang and drug problems in that area.
Imp said no such thing and you know it. Imp made a racial dig and that’s what you springborded off of.
Your words:
How does City Council plan to remove that obstacle you think? Well, they’re not approving any more low-income housing or pawn shops in that area. Where can we put low-income housing and pawn shops, they ask themselves. Ah, far away from the rich folks who are willing to pay for an old home (and more importantly contribute to the tax coffers) in the historic district downtown and their children who will go to E.C. Glass.
Now tell me, old wise sage, which orifice did you pull that out of? You know something we don’t? but that’s beside the point,, because you are clearly saying that if housing is built on your precious Timberlake rd…there goes the nighborhood.
If they don’t look like you, talk like you, they just have to be ruinous people, otherwise why would you be so paranoid. Heard it all before Kurt.
Your words:
How many people who are from and live in the Timberlake area are on City Council?
This from a genious that thinks he can lecture someone on how government works. Tell me what city council anywhere, even on the la-la planet you live on, have sitting council members that represent their own street? Or personal little enclave rahter than districts?
That question clearly proves you are uninformed about goverment structures right down to not knowing who your elected representative is.
I’ve agreed with you several times there is a crime problem in the city, but that doesn’t excuse nor give you license to make these insinuations about certain cultures and when you get caught red handed and called out (which I will surely do), you can’t go and hide behind a bunch of parsed words and long winded but-but-but-I-I-I-I like a child as if we can’t figure out your original intent.
None of this sutff was in your first post. 101 Kurt, if you want to know what a person is up to, listen to his first words. You said what you mean’t in the first post.
I surrender the floor to you, Kurt. I suspect you’ll continue your but-but-but-but-I-I-I-I. I’ve gone as far as I care to go on this topic, but I do hope you’ve learned something, because if you do this agin, I’m goiing to call you out again.
Just because my response is long doesn’t mean it is “convoluted.“ Actually it is pretty straight forward.
Where did I insinuate that Timberlake has “no undesirables”? I stated “the plan now is to push the undesirables towards Timberlake.“ If you read the whole entry, you would see the undesirables I am speaking of are the gangs. Does that mean that Timberlake has no undesirables in every since of the word? No. Does it mean that Timberlake did not have any gang problems? Yes. That’s what the conversation is about. Timberlake now has at least one low-level gang according to the LCPD officer. You incorrectly placed your own meaning and assumptions on the text.
You say I am running from my own words, hiding behind empty verbiage, and running for cover. I don’t follow your logic. I stated the problem very clearly. In fact, it is a problem most don’t want to confront. How am I running from the topic and hiding behind my own words? Are you sure you aren’t wearing blinders? You seem to insinuate that you have read some secret meaning into what I have said. I’m talking about the growing gang and drug problem in the city and how City Council is systematically trying to push that problem out of downtown without really dealing with the problem. I’m not sure what you are reading into that or how you could read into it, but wouldn’t your assumptions be on you and not me???
As for paranoia, PC BS (???), and City Council, until recently I worked within the system. I know how it works. I’ve seen how the demographics are intentionally being shifted. Most people do not and are happy to keep the blinders on. Ignorance is bliss. City Council has people who represent all the districts. My question was is there a true representative from Timberlake? How many of the City Council members have children who go to Heritage? Who is politically active in this town? If I were to move to New York, run for public office, and win; would I be a true representative of all the people of New York or would I be more susceptible to influence from special interest and the most politically active? I’m not sure if you are familiar with how the political system works in the U.S. It works the same on all levels- federal to local.
I apologize if this is “too long.“
Kurt the only anything different than you your first post is just just got long winded. I agreed with you on the gang and drug stuff, so save the convoluted speech.
You appear to be unusualy paranoid. City coucil is conspiring to ship undesireables to Timberlake Rd?
The city council is made up of representatives of districts city wide.
What planet are you living on?
You’re the one that implicated that Timberlake Rd has no undesireables.
All I did was call you on it.
You can’t run from your own words by trying to hide behind all that empty verbage.
Now here’s another lesson for you. Drop the PC BS. The only reason you use that is to run for cover. That way you turn the conversation away from the topic to discussing PC BS.
Take a deep breath and come back to earth.
Undesirables do come in all shapes and sizes, hence the use of the word “undesirables.“ Anybody can read anything they want into just about any text. Just because you are politically correct doesn’t mean you are correct. I didn’t know “undesirables” was “tricky verbiage” or such a loaded work. My points are based on facts:
1. Lynchburg City Council refuses to admit that the city has a gang and drug problem (I consider people involved in both as undesirables regardless of race, creed, religion, nationality, boxers, briefs, etc). Therefore, City Council does not feel the need to officially address said problem, which leads to…
2. LCPD has one officer assigned to the “gang unit,“ if you want to call it that. I have been in a gang awareness presentation given by that officer, and he stated these first two facts. He wants to raise awareness and change the current situation, but that requires Lynchburg City residents to quit worrying about being politically correct, wake up to the problem, and become politically active.
3. This one requires you to use some of those “read with the third eye” skills to evaluate City Council’s unofficial plan to deal with the problem (I taught English for years and never heard it put that way, but I like it). Within the past few years, while downtown is being renovated, City Council has approved a huge low-income housing development on Timberlake and a pawn shop (L. Oppelman), which will sell guns basically across the road from Heritage High School. This is the second pawn shop selling weapons within a two mile radius of the school. The children who live in this development will go to Heritage Elementary and High School.
Now, unfortunately statistics show that gang involvement and drug problems are often, NOT ALWAYS, but often linked to urban low-income housing developments for a variety of reasons. Let me ask you this. How many pawn shops that sell guns are in Boonesboro? Has one been approved to open across the street from E.C. Glass close to downtown? If you were buying a house, would you want to buy it in a neighborhood across the street from a low-income housing development, a pawn shop, and a gas station that has been robbed several times since the building of that development? These are practical wisdom questions. I don’t call it common sense, because it’s not common anymore. We’ve replaced with a thing called political correctness in this country.
It is no secret that City Council is trying to “revitalize” downtown. As Imprimis stated, it is difficult to do that with the current gang and drug problems in that area. How does City Council plan to remove that obstacle you think? Well, they’re not approving any more low-income housing or pawn shops in that area. Where can we put low-income housing and pawn shops, they ask themselves. Ah, far away from the rich folks who are willing to pay for an old home (and more importantly contribute to the tax coffers) in the historic district downtown and their children who will go to E.C. Glass.
How many people who are from and live in the Timberlake area are on City Council? Use your third eye reading skills.
Kurt you had me right up to your last sentence, then you got down right silly and destroyed all your credibility.
I agree Lynchburg has a drug and gang problem, just like every other city. I agree Lynchburg PD is not living up to the seriousness of the matter.
But guess what Einsteen, Timberlake RD is not free from undesireables. Never has been, just listen to the scanner on any given night. Of course undesireables come in all kinds of forms as you have demonstrated.
I had a professor that always taught to read with a third eye and listen with a third ear. Your tricky verbage with the ‘undesirables’ using apostrophes to set it off ,doesn’t hide what you are insinuating either.
Here’s a thought both of you might want to concider. Criminals are not culturally specific. Crime crosses all cultural lines, class lines, and family lines. I’d be willing to bet that your dirty little secret is somewhere in your lineage, there is a criminal.
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