A mystery for San Diego County Sheriff's detectives presented itself Thursday night as they investigated a Lemon Grove shooting with no known victim or gunman — at least for now.
It was a very scary moment for the families that live in the 3500 block of West Street.
A call for help at 4:40 p.m. indicated multiple gunshots and one man hit. Sheriff's deputies certainly found evidence of that: two homes with bullet holes in them and shell casings that spread to the North Street intersection. The crime scene spanned nearly one block, and deputies soon discovered blood.
“There is blood in multiple locations,” Sgt. Michelle McPhail said.
Investigators said the shooting started in the driveway of 3562 West Street. The homeowner, who declined an on-camera interview, said he heard five shots, but when he went outside, he saw no one.
A neighbor, who did not wish to be identified, said he called 911 and then talked with the victim. The young man told him he was shot in the hand, and then he fled through the caller's backyard.
Deputies searched several blocks surrounding the scene. They suited up in tactical gear, searched three houses but came up empty-handed. No victim, no suspect, no crime? Not exactly, detectives said.
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“We collect the evidence, write up the crime report, turn it over to detectives as a miscellaneous incident right now in case later on, a victim shows up at the hospital and we can put the two together,” McPhail said.
That is investigators' best hope of solving this crime. They have blood samples from this scene to test, and they notified area hospitals, should someone show up with an unexplained gunshot wound to the hand.
If you know about this incident, call the sheriff's non-emergency line at 858-565-5200. You can also call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 and be eligible for up to $1000 for information leading to an arrest.
