Neighbors react to shooting involving Savannah Police officers

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - People living and working near West Victory Drive and Bull Street were waiting for more information as they saw yellow and red tape, crime scene markers, and police cars blocking the area.

The crime scene stretching several blocks was up for around five hours on Tuesday morning.

For five hours, people passed by asking questions about how, when, and why it happened.

Witnesses said an argument started near the Popeyes at Bull Street and West 42nd Street. Witnesses also said the incident involved a homeless man who was arguing with an officer before shots rang out Tuesday morning just after 7:15 a.m.

WTOC has reached out to SPD and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for more information.

Mayor Van Johnson confirmed at his weekly press conference that two officers were in the hospital with minor injuries.

Video sent from the scene showed a person being taken on a gurney into an ambulance.

People nearby react

Jo Judy, who works at Nomad Society, said she was nervous when she saw crime tape in the area, asking people what they saw, heard, or knew.

Judy said she was visually emotional to find out someone had been shot by police. She said not knowing the full situation made it scary.

“There’s a lot going on in our world today, not knowing the whole situation makes it pretty scary,” Judy said.

The GBI investigating at the scene just moments after the shooting, brought some calm to the situation for Judy.

“I’m glad to see the GBI is here, and I worked with people in the GBI before, just tattooing them and stuff, and I know they take their work really seriously and will be able to give us a good, clear picture of what happened eventually,” Judy said.

Andy Bettag, who lives near the Victory Dr. and Bull St. intersection, said he loves the neighborhood and pointed to its businesses, restaurants, bars, and diversity.

He claimed to have heard gunshots in the area before. That the neighborhood has experienced crime, but he hopes shootings happen less often near the scene and in the city overall.

“It does happen. We hope that it happens less and less,” he said. “There’s no question this is a great neighborhood and a lot of new restaurants and bars and new construction everywhere. We hope that the tide keeps on going in the right direction.”

The area has businesses, families, and visitors nearby. Some tourists visiting from Washington said they had been warned about gun violence in Savannah.

Bettag said the incident should not deter people from exploring the area.

“It’s certainly sad, it’s sort of a reality of modern-day living, and we hope everyone is okay. There has been some crime in this neighborhood, and we hope everyone’s alright,” Bettag said.