Charleston man shot in Monday morning incident

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- A Charleston man is recovering from a gunshot wound received Monday morning. Four have been charged in connection with the shooting.

According to a Tuesday news release from the Charleston Department of Public Safety, a call was received around 8:30 a.m. about a man with a gun in the 100 block of West Ada Street. Officers went to investigate and a short time later found Leroy Tate, 33, of Charleston in the 1000 block of South Main Street, across from the junior high. Tate had a gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital and later released.

During the course of the investigation, officers arrested three juveniles and one adult on drug and weapon charges. Also during the investigation, four guns were recovered, three of which have been confirmed as stolen, according to the news release.

The juveniles were placed in the juvenile detention center. Formal charges of assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon have been filed against Demarcus D. Owens, 18, of Charleston.

Owens remained in the Mississippi County Detention Center on $100,000 cash bond.

Due to the location of the shooting, all of the Charleston School District campuses along Main Street -- the middle school, sixth grade building and Hearnes Elementary -- were placed on lockdown until around noon as a precaution. The high school, which is in a different part of town, was on alert, according to Superintendent Kevin Miller.

The Charleston Department of Public safety was assisted by the SEMO Drug Task Force. The investigation is ongoing, and more charges are possible.