Person of interest detained in weekend gunfire in downtown Savannah

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A person of interest is in custody following gunfire this weekend in downtown Savannah that drew attention online.

SEE: Video captures gunfire, crowd fleeing near W. Bay St. and MLK Jr. Blvd. in Savannah

The Chatham County Sheriff’s Office initially announced investigators “have detained one of the shooting suspects” in a recent downtown parking lot incident; the social media announcement has since been removed.

WTOC crews on the scene talked to Sheriff Coleman who later said the individual detained is a person of interest not a suspect.

MORE: Sheriff calls for action on gangs after Savannah shots rang out downtown

The incident happened Saturday near West Bay Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where cell phone video captured dozens of shots fired in a parking lot.

A video of Saturday’s spree of gunfire in the heart of downtown Savannah drew reaction from tourists, residents and Chatham County Sheriff Richard Coleman.

WATCH VIDEO BELOW:

How the person of interest was located

Asked how his office located the person of interest, Coleman said: “The community will always speak and it was confirmed to one of my deputies at a later time and we put two and two together, we realized this was a person of interest with some involvement but to what extent, we don’t know at this time.”

Coleman said he believes the shooting is tied to gang activity. Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said gang involvement has not yet been confirmed.

Savannah police continue to investigate.

What happened Saturday

According to a Savannah Police Department report obtained by WTOC, law enforcement responded to a ShotSpotter alert for multiple rounds fired in the area of 501 West Bay Street on Saturday at 11:27 p.m. The alert was for the Bay Street parking lot near the Holiday Inn Hotel in downtown Savannah. The ShotSpotter application detected at least 27 rounds fired, according to the police report.

Officers canvassed the area for injured persons, spent shell casings and property damage, according to the report. Shell casings were found from the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard side of the parking lot to the Ann Street side, and several vehicles with ballistic damage were observed, the report said.

A firearm was later collected under one of the vehicles, according to the report.

Witnesses provided information to officers during the investigation, the report said. Officers canvassed the area for possible suspects based on information provided over the radio.

The on-duty sergeant informed officers that detectives had been contacted but would not respond to the scene at that time, and instructed officers to photograph and collect all spent shell casings, according to the report.

Within a few hours, the report said persons of interest were detained by other officers, and detectives responded to interview the individuals.

Evidence collected

The following evidence was located in the area, according to the report:

• 45 9 mm shell casings
• 15 .40 caliber shell casings
• 3 .45 auto shell casings
• 1 .25 caliber shell casing
• 6 fragments
• 2 spent rounds
• 1 Smith & Wesson MP45 2.0 semiautomatic pistol with seven .45 caliber rounds in the magazine

All items were collected from the scene and taken to the Savannah Police Department Property Room to be logged as evidence, the report said.