A 23-year-old Lawrence man was in critical but stable condition Monday morning at a Topeka hospital, where he was taken after he was shot early Sunday at a south Lawrence apartment complex.
How you can help
Police have asked anyone with information about the shooting or the stabbing to call them at 785-832-7650 or leave a tip at the Douglas County Crime Stoppers hotline by calling 785-843-TIPS.
Sgt. Matt Sarna, a Lawrence police spokesman, said officers and detectives had made no arrests in connection with the weekend shooting — or a separate stabbing incident downtown that injured a Kansas City, Kan., man.
He said police were having difficulty finding witnesses to get a description of suspects in both cases.
“There are not a whole lot of people talking,” Sarna said.
With the shooting, nearby residents reported hearing a noise, possibly a gunshot, around 2:30 a.m. Sunday at South Pointe Apartments, 2310 W. 26th St.
Police were called by officials at Lawrence Memorial Hospital when the 23-year-old Lawrence man showed up at LMH with apparent gunshot wounds. Sarna said the man was shot after an altercation at the apartment complex.
The shooting victim was later flown to a hospital in Topeka. His injuries were believed to be life-threatening on Sunday, but police said Monday morning his condition had stabilized.
In a separate incident, a patrol officer about 1:40 a.m. Sunday noticed a large fight that had spilled into the street in front of Liberty Hall, 644 Mass.
The crowd dispersed as police responded to the area, and later a 20-year-old Kansas City, Kan., man showed up at LMH with stab wounds. Police determined the man had been stabbed several times during the fight downtown.
Sarna said people involved in the fight had attended a party at Liberty Hall and that the fight broke out as it was concluding.
“Downtown, of course, is a very highly populated section of town on weekends, so we try to get more resources there, including officers outside of establishments when they are closing if they have large crowds,” he said.
But Sarna said because several people dispersed after the fight, police were having a tough time tracking down witnesses. No update was available Monday, but on Sunday police said the stabbing victim’s wounds were not believed to be life threatening. The victim was eventually taken to a hospital in the Kansas City area.
Comments
Stuart Evans 3 years, 3 months ago
we need more KCK people to come to Lawrence, they make everything neato!
Alabamastreet 3 years, 3 months ago
Rap concert.
Pitt_Mackeson 3 years, 3 months ago
I'm not surprised, those apartments are rat nests. They should be called the South Lawrence Projects.
kernal 3 years, 3 months ago
No witnesses coming forth? Probable witnesses are of a generation affected by a jailhouse mentality of "snitches get stiches". They let punks intimidate them.
Crime stoppers does not disclose witnesses who come forward. If you know who committed these acts and the perps do it again and kill someone you know, or care about, you have to decide if you can live with that the rest of your life.
Stuart Evans 3 years, 3 months ago
in that social circle, generally vigilante revenge is the only way to bring justice to a killer. from the outside looking in, we can all see that it just perpetuates the cycle of violence. I don't know if it has more to do with intimidation by thugs, or mistrust in the police and criminal justice system. Probably a healthy dose of both.
garyr 3 years, 3 months ago
Snitches DO get stitches. This goes back as far as I can remember. As a young kid in Northwest Chicago (Elmwood Park), my grandfather taught me two things. 1. Always keep your mouth shut, 2. Never rat on your friends. Granted, this was the Italian neighborhood, and growing up Italian, that's kind of what we lived by. I never knew it was any different until I moved from Chicago to Lawrence.
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