Early morning shootings, car chase in downtown Lawrence over weekend

Lawrence police are investigating two separate downtown shootings and a car chase that occurred early Sunday morning.

According to an email from police spokesman David Ernst, police learned of the first shooting when the victim arrived at LMH Health about 12:30 a.m. Sunday with a gunshot wound that was not believed to be life-threatening.

The victim told officers he was shot while in a business at 815 New Hampshire St., Ernst wrote. The restaurant Cielito Lindo is listed at that address.

While officers were in the LMH parking lot, they were approached by three people, one of whom was seeking treatment of a gunshot wound that also wasn’t believed to be life-threatening.

Officers were told that the victim was shot outside a business in the 700 block of New Hampshire Street, Ernst said. The circumstances of both shootings were unclear Sunday afternoon. Ernst did not comment on whether the shootings were related.

While officers were in the parking lot south of 815 New Hampshire, they observed a vehicle striking two parked cars while leaving the lot. Officers pursued but were unable to stop the vehicle. Another officer on patrol spotted the vehicle and started a pursuit that ended with the vehicle disabled in the front yard of a residence in the 1300 block of West 21st Street. The driver was taken into custody for multiple violations. No other information on the driver was available. The vehicle pursuit is not thought to be related to the shooting, Ernst said.

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