Wednesday shooting victims stabilized: Investigation remains ongoing

Published 4:33 pm Thursday, April 25, 2024

SALISBURY — Two of the victims from a Wednesday shooting in Salisbury have been upgraded to stable condition.

During a press conference on Thursday, Major Justin Crews, the public information officer for the Salisbury Police Department confirmed that the two victims, identified as a woman and an infant, who were transported to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem with injuries described as life-threatening, were stabilized after initially being in critical condition.

Three people, including the infant, were hospitalized after a shooting that occurred near the 1200 block of South Main Street at approximately 10 p.m. on Wednesday.

The third victim was never in critical condition and was transported to Atrium Health Cabarrus Hospital in Concord. Crews said on Thursday that victim had been released from medical care.

The shooting was the second in a span of about six hours that occurred within city limits. The previous shooting occurred near Old Concord Road and South Shaver Street at about 4:30 p.m.

The victim in that shooting was also described as a juvenile, and was reportedly in stable condition after being transported to Baptist.

During the press conference on Thursday, Crews said, “Our goal is to reassure the community that we are working hard to solve these crimes and get these suspects off the streets.”

“There is no room for violence like this in the city of Salisbury.”

Those latest incidents come on the heels of a violent couple of weeks in Salisbury. Two people were killed on April 13 in two separate shootings that occurred in other parts of the city.

Crews said on Thursday that there is not evidence at this time to suggest the shootings are related.

“After the events on April 13, we consulted with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigations and our federal partners to help solve these crimes,” Crews said. “These agencies are currently assisting us and are in town.”

Salisbury Police officers have been offered overtime pay to increase patrols in various hot spots throughout the city. Crews said that those officers would not be on call during those shifts but rather focused on the area they are patrolling.

“When officers come out on overtime, they don’t answer other calls,” Crew said. “They just patrol certain areas. They would not answer a larceny at Walmart. They would stay in those areas and remain visible.”

Crews indicated that they are following up on leads and have some information on possible suspects but that he could not release details from an active investigation.

He asked that community members with information regarding any of the incidents to come forward even if they do so anonymously, through various channels offered by the SPD.

“We need them to come forward and help us,” Crews said. “We will not tolerate this violence in our community, now is the time for us to come together to combat these issues.”

Crews added that the department was looking into the possibility of the incidents being gang-related but declined to confirm or deny if that appeared to be the case.

Asked about how his officers were reacting to the recent uptick in violent crime, Crews said, “It’s frustrating. It’s very frustrating that the community is impacted by this senseless violence.”

The incidents remain under investigation and no arrests have been made at this time.

Anyone with information, is encouraged to contact Casper at 704-638-5333, 704-638-5211, by email: investigations@salisburync.gov., or by going to the police department’s Facebook page for a link to submit video anonymously.