Around 2 a.m. Sunday two women were shot near the gas pumps at the Shell station on West Third Street near Gettysburg Avenue.
“They had pulled up to the pump and there appeared to be some sort of disturbance in the vehicle and that’s when the shooting occurred,” he said. “The suspect then got out of the back seat of the vehicle and fled the scene.”
The women were sitting in the front driver and passenger seats in a black Chevrolet Suburban. The women were 44 and 38 years-old and were friends.
The suspect is a Black man who was wearing all black and a purple cap. Police are expected to release surveillance images from the shooting today or tomorrow.
“So we believe he actually rode to the gas station with our victims,” Johns said. “We believe our victims had maybe been to some sort of club that night. We’re not sure yet which club they actually went to.”
Police believe the women and suspect were at a club based off the time of the shooting and because both women were dressed well. Investigators are looking at surveillance cameras at the gas station and the area, as well as license plate readers to determine where the vehicle came from.
The suspect was heading north on Gettysburg Avenue when he fled.
While the shooting happened around 2 a.m., police weren’t notified until a gas station attendant hit the silent alarm for police around 5 a.m.
“[The attendant] recalled hearing shots but didn’t think much of it [and] didn’t call the police until about 5 o’clock in the morning when they saw somebody by the victim’s vehicle and they went ahead and hit their silent alarm, which notified police,” Johns said.
The shooting is not believed to be connected to any shootings last week, including one on Wednesday where a woman was killed and another man injured following a shooting in a vehicle on state Route 49.
It is not clear what the motive was in the Sunday shooting, but Johns said it doesn’t appear to be a robbery.
There were three other vehicles in the gas station parking lot at the time of the shooting. None of the occupants called 911 and at least one vehicle fled.
Johns asked anyone inside those vehicles to reach out to police and share what they witnessed.
“We need the public’s help,” he said. “If you were at the Shell station that morning around 2 a.m. please let us know. There’s information we need on this suspect that’s very vital.”
Those with information can submit tips at 937-333-COPS (2677) or Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-STOP (7867).
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