Tuesday April 8, 2008

Charlottesville police say they got a call at 2:45 Tuesday afternoon for a double shooting along Fairway Avenue.

A white minivan was driving down Fairway when some sort of disagreement or fight broke out. That led to gunshots inside the vehicle and led the vehicle through a fence and into someone's yard.

Two men who were inside the van suffered gunshot wounds; one was listed in serious condition, the other suffering from non life-threatening injuries.

A third person, a woman, was in the van at the time. She wasn't shot, but suffered an ankle injury. All three were taken to UVa Medical Center for treatment.

Investigators say right now they're not looking for any additional suspects in the shooting.

"[It was a] single vehicle automobile accident where it struck the fence and, of course, the incident that followed, or that was in occurrence, would have been self-contained inside that vehicle," Lt. Ronnie Roberts said, explaining that the person responsible for the shots likely was inside the van.

Neighbors up and down Fairway Avenue told CBS19 News the shooting was cause for serious concern.

"You just get a scare to let your kids come outside and run around and play; that something's going to happen to them. That somebody's going to ride by and shoot and one of your kids get hurt," said Beverly Hayslett.

During their investigation, police dug through a mulch pile down the street from the crash and found what appeared to be a Smith and Wesson revolver. CBS19 News had exclusive video of the gun and its discovery. The weapon is headed to the state lab for ballistics testing to see if, in fact, there's a connection to this case.

Police want to reassure folks that this incident had nothing to do with the neighborhood; they say the people involved are from Virginia, but not from the area in which the shooting occurred.