Lubbock Police on Monday released information about a shooting which happened early Sunday morning in the Depot District.
Police were called just after 2:30 a.m. to the 1800 block of Buddy Holly Avenue for shots fired.
“Shortly after officers arrived on scene, they were notified a gunshot victim had just arrived at University Medical Center,” police said. “The 25-year-old male victim had serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.”
Police said it appears two groups of people got into a fight in the 900 block of 18th Street. As the fight was breaking up and people were getting into a vehicle to leave, someone fired multiple times.
“A back passenger in the vehicle was struck by a bullet,” police said.
Officers were not yet able to locate a suspect.
“This case remains under investigation,” police said.
Nearby businesses in the area shared that they are tired of seeing crimes like this happening in the area, and they give the Depot District a bad name. Larry Simmons owns the Tornado Gallery just down the street from where the shooting occurred, and explained that more businesses are open during daytime hours to appeal to family-oriented crowds and want the district to be known as a safe place for the community.
“We have a daytime image down here, yet the image of the neighborhood as a whole, is still controlled by the nighttime businesses,” said Simmons. “I would just want a little bit more respect for the other businesses down here.”
Simmons said that more often than not, he sees nearby clubs and bars staying open far later than the regular closing time of 2 a.m. He shared that although he is impressed with the police presence in the Depot, that if bars are going to be serving later than they should, he would like to see police units in the area a little longer.
“We have a good police presence, but unfortunately it does not go through all the time,” said Simmons. “I think part of it goes back onto the business owner too. You’ve got to be aware. You cannot say ‘well they left,’ just because they left your business doesn’t mean they left your responsibility.”
