WILMINGTON — Not even two months after police investigated a shooting at Princess and Water streets, another incident has taken place overnight near the vicinity.
According to Wilmington Police Department, a man was found shot at the 00 block of Princess Street, which is located near the federal courthouse between Water and Front streets. He had non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to Novant-NHRMC.
Officers found the victim after hearing shots fired while on patrol on Second Street. Once they heard the gunfire after 2:15 a.m. — also confirmed by an area ShotSpotter — they ran toward the sounds of gunfire and during the trek heard more shots.
WPD did not answer Port City Daily’s questions regarding how many officers were called to the incident, where they believe the shots originated from and if anyone has been apprehended.
“This is an active on-going investigation and more details will be released as they become available,” spokesperson Brandon Shope said.
One person on the scene, who asked to remain anonymous, called the incident terrifying. He was exiting the bar at KGB, located on Princess, also between Water and Front streets, when he first heard the shooting. He and another friend ducked into a corridor with a group of people but then managed to exit to conceal themselves behind a nearby air conditioning unit.
“We just kept our heads down and held each other,” he said. “There’s so much emotion in this political climate, you never know what’s happening. All we heard were people screaming and running. We heard two rounds of gunfire, minutes apart.”
He was downtown with a friend, Hamilton Wheeler, celebrating Wheeler’s birthday at various restaurants and bars. Wheeler said the night and vibes were great until it came to closing time.
“We were telling jokes and having drinks,” he said, “then it was chaos.”
As they were exiting KGB, they said a domestic altercation was taking place nearby, but then they heard gunfire coming from the opposite direction. The two witnesses concluded it sounded like the Front Street area, from where people then began running.
Wheeler dropped to the ground on Princess Street adjacent to the KGB entrance gate and threw his body over a friend. He said he was lying there for 5 or so minutes.
“It felt like an eternity,” Wheeler said. “It was an awful situation — I had a panic attack, probably the worst I have ever had. If I hadn’t had one before, I’d think it was a heart attack.”
The people in his birthday party dispersed as the incident was underway. Wheeler said his Uber canceled on him during the timeframe, and once he saw upward of 10 police vehicles along Princess Street, he felt safe enough to leave.
His friends who hid behind an air conditioning unit also exited after detecting sirens nearby and deemed it secure enough to get to their cars without threat.
Neither party witnessed the shot victim or the perpetrators.
Oct. 15’s overnight shooting follows an Aug. 26 incident that took place after 1:30 a.m. A brawl happened outside a bar at Princess and Water streets that left a 17-year-old shot with a non-life-threatening injury. The teen was transported to the hospital and the suspect got away. Detectives concluded the incident was a result of a disagreement between the two people involved.
Port City Daily asked for an update on that case and if the two are connected but did not hear back by press. This will be updated upon WPD’s response.
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