No arrests yet in beating, shootings
STERLING – Police still are interviewing witnesses in three shootings that happened in Sterling over the weekend, as well as those in a battery case that may be related to at least one of the shootings.
As of Tuesday evening, no arrests had been made, although police have a list of potential suspects, Detective Jason Bielema said.
No one interviewed by police so far seemed to get a good look at whoever shot at the houses, and no one reported seeing suspicious vehicles, Bielema said.
Police are investigating whether the shootings and the beating are connected, Bielema said.
“We can speculate that two of [these cases] are, but we don’t have clear-cut evidence to prove that they are,” he said.
It’s too early to tell whether the incidents are gang-related, or if there are any connections between the houses that were hit, he said.
He declined to say what kind of gun was used, or whether the same kind of gun was used in all of the shootings.
At about 1:14 a.m. Saturday, police received a call about an aggravated battery that occurred in the 200 block of Fifth Avenue earlier that morning. The man had a cut on his face and was taken to CGH Medical Center for treatment.
About 15 minutes later, police received a call that shots were fired in the 800 block of Avenue K. They found what appeared to be several bullet holes in the exterior of the house of the man who made the call.
A little less than 2 hours later, police were back in the 200 block of Fifth Avenue, responding to another call of shots fired.
Then, shortly after midnight Sunday, officers responded to a house in the 500 block of 11th Street, where police discovered bullet holes in its exterior walls.
No one was injured in any of the shootings, police said.
Violent crime tends to peak in the middle of summer, so the fact that the shootings occurred so late in the season is “peculiar,” Bielema said.
“It’s kind of strange, especially compared to previous years,” he said. “But, crimes can happen whenever.”
