ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — One day later, a suspect in the shooting of two individuals at Spruce Hill Apartments is still on the loose. The Asheville Police Department is asking for assistance from the public in locating the suspect.
What happened at Spruce Hill Apartments?
Around 11:40 a.m. on Thursday, May 14, APD officers arrived to Spruce Hill Apartments in Haw Creek to respond to reports of a shooting.
The APD investigation revealed two wounded people inside their vehicle at the Haw Creek apartment complex.
APD Public Information Officer Rick Rice said that one of the victims was shot in the head and the other in the abdomen.
APD officers performed life-saving measures until EMS arrived. Both victims were transported to Mission Hospital, where one victim was treated and released, while the other remains in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
According to surveillance footage and further investigation, the shooter was wearing a pink hooded sweater and red pants when he fled the scene on foot. Officers believe that the three individuals knew each other and that there is no ongoing threat to the public.
“If you have any information about this incident or know the identity of the third involved party, please contact APD at (828) 252-1110. You can also send an anonymous tip using the TIP2APD smartphone application (search “Asheville PD” in your app store) or by texting TIP2APD to 847411,” APD wrote in a press release.
What was the public response to the shooting?
Haw Creek resident John Ziebart lives about a quarter-mile away from the apartment complex, but said that he did not hear gun shots during the incident. Instead, he found out about it afterward through a neighborhood alert.
“One of our neighbors got something and sent it to all the people in our area,” Ziebart said. “It just said that there was a shooting and that they were searching for the person that did it.”
Ziebart said that he was slightly worried that the suspect had not been apprehended.
“Mildly, yeah,” Ziebart said. “It’s a little bit concerning, but, you know, I’m gonna trust that [APD] did what they’re going to do, and haven’t found the guy, girl, whoever it was. They’re still looking.”
Ziebart recalled a previous incident of gun violence at the apartment complex in July 2018.
“When we first moved in to our house, which was back in 2o18, we were in the yard. It was around the Fourth of July, and we heard a bunch of pops. We assumed it was firecrackers, fireworks, and kids shooting it off,” Ziebart said. “But then, four police cars came by up Waters Road here, and we thought, ‘Oh, something else is going on.'”
The victim of the July 22, 2018 shooting was James Jerome Davis Jr., 27, a Deaverview resident.
However, Ziebart said that he did not feel at risk in his neighborhood.
“Yeah, I walk here all the time, and I know people walk in there,” Ziebart said. “I don’t feel unsafe. They actually got a manager in, like, a year after that first incident that cleaned things up. I think it’s a fine area. We’ve not had a problem. I think we’re good.”
This story has been updated with new information on Friday, May 15.
