Man taken to Cape Girardeau hospital following altercation

An Illinois man involved in an altercation in a Cape Girardeau apartment Saturday was taken to an area hospital with two head injuries that may have been the result of a shooting, police said.

The original call came in at 5:46 p.m. as a shooting, said patrol Sgt. Rick Schmidt, though it was unclear whether the wounds were the result of a shooting or the altercation. Police were still looking Saturday night for a man in his late teens or early 20s, Schmidt said.

Officers responded to the call and found the victim alert and conscious, Schmidt said. The victim was able to communicate and got to the ambulance unaided. The suspect was known to the victim, and police learned he had fled south on foot.

Schmidt was unsure of the exact nature of the relationship between the two men or what prompted the altercation.

"I don't want to say the victim and the suspect were familiar with each other, but they were not strangers," Schmidt said. "Let's just say they knew each other by name."

Police had conducted a neighborhood canvass, and Schmidt said about nine officers were looking for the suspect. The investigation was ongoing and an officer was interviewing the victim at the hospital Saturday night. The incident took place at the residence of the victim's girlfriend.

Pertinent address:

608 Sycamore Circle, Cape Girardeau, MO