Three St. Thomas men are in police custody following a shootout in Savan on Sunday morning.
Well-placed police sources say the mid-morning incident followed days of police reports filed by one of the suspects that another man had robbed him and that he would seek retaliation.
A female bystander was shot during the fracas, which erupted near the Red Ball Grocery. Melissa Hodge of Pile Strade was taken to Roy L. Schneider Hospital where she was treated for bullet fragments in her right elbow and the back of her right thigh and released.
A parked vehicle was also struck, shattering its front and rear windshield.
Curtis Grosvenor, 31, of Bovoni #25-2, Shawn Williams, 19, of 4-F Mandahl and Ricaldo Claxton, 24, of Guyllings Street, Savan, were arrested and charged with possession of unlicenced firearms, illegal discharge of firearms, third-degree assault, reckless endangerment and damage to a vehicle, according to a release from Police Chief Jose Garcia.
All three suspects are being held on $25,000 bail.
One of the suspects was taken into custody near the Jane E. Tuitt School where he ran after the shootout. The other suspects were arrested near the scene.
Confiscated in the incident were a .357-caliber silver Magnum, a .44-caliber revolver and a .22-caliber long rifle.
One person who spoke on condition of anonymity said that from the Upper Solberg area, rampant automatic gunfire broke through the silence of the morning.
Garcia attributed the quick apprehension of the suspects to the courage and quick action of residents of Savan who, he said, "have decided to take a no-nonsense attitude toward solving violent crime in their neighborhood."
Garcia commended Sgt. Alva Chesterfield and the squad from the Richard Callwood Command for their quick and professional response.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact detectives at the VIPD Investigation Bureau at 774-4050 or emergency 911.
