Witnesses report hearing upwards of 20 shots Tuesday in an incident that left three people with gunshot wounds, and at least one seriously injured.
Monshun J. Johnson, 32, of the 800 block of Vine Street and the 1500 block of Coolidge Street, was taken to a St. Louis hospital for treatment after an incident near the intersection of Garfield and Mary streets, according to police. Names for the other two victims have not been released, but they were treated locally, officials said Wednesday.
The Poplar Bluff Police Department responded to a report of shots fired at 6:39 p.m. Tuesday, according to reports. Upon arrival, officer Cody Trout exited his patrol vehicle and smelled gunpowder in the air.
Trout reported he then observed Johnson lying on the ground near the passenger door of a blue and gray GMC Suburban with his hoodie over his head. Johnson had several wounds in his chest and did not appear to be breathing, police say.
Trout also reported he saw Zechariah R. McDonald, 19, of the 8000 block of Hallmark leaning over Johnson, with blood on his hands. Trout reported Dimitri D. Dudley, 28, of the 3000 block of Elaine was picking up items in front of the Suburban.
Trout patted down both McDonald and Dudley, finding a Glock 19 with an extended magazine on McDonald, according to the report. McDonald was then arrested on failure to appear warrants for no operator’s license, leaving the scene of an accident, defective equipment and no proof of auto insurance.
Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley said McDonald “did not have any involvement (in the shooting) that we’re aware of at this time.”
Witnesses in the area told police they heard several shots.
One witness said there were several shots, a short pause, approximately six more shots, another short pause and more shots.
Another witness reported hearing approximately 15-20 gunshots around 6:35 p.m. There were also witness reports of two Black males running north on Alice about four minutes after that.
The PBPD’s investigation is ongoing. Anyone who has information on the shooting should call the PBPD at 573-785-5776.
Whiteley had words of praise for the PBPD’s handling of the incident.
“It was certainly a very chaotic scene when the officers arrived,” Whiteley said. “I certainly want to commend the Patrol Division, and the Criminal Investigation Division with their handling of the situation. Anytime you have an event like that, there’s a lot of turmoil and the emotions are high. They got everything under control and in short order, secured the scene. The detectives did an extraordinary job of processing the scene.”