One injured in Cape shooting

A suspect is in police custody following a shooting about 2 p.m. Wednesday on Kenwood Drive in Cape Girardeau. One man was injured, according to Cape Girardeau police Lt. Rodney Barker.

The victim was struck once in the abdomen and transported from the scene by ambulance to a local trauma center, department public-information officer Rick Schmidt said.

The victim and the shooter were employees of Thiele Concrete Finishing Inc., Barker said.

The incident stemmed from a fistfight between the two over tools, which escalated to a shooting, according to Schmidt.

Austin Ford was one of about 10 employees working the site when the fight broke out.

Austin Ford, left, gives a statement to Cape Girardeau police officer after a shooting Wednesday in the 3000 block of Kenwood Drive in Cape Girardeau. Ford was one of about 10 employees of Thiele Concrete Finishing Inc. at the work site where the shooting occurred.BEN MATTHEWS

“They got in a fistfight down there, and then [the alleged shooter] grabbed a gun out of his truck about halfway down,” Ford said. “We seen that he had a gun in his hand, so we all took off running.

“About that time, a gunshot went off and my friend went down. He had a big hole in his stomach. My other buddy took off running up the hill, and he fired another shot at him — trying to kill him, too. I mean, I got five kids. I don’t need to die.”

“It was a pretty quick wrap-up. Usually we don’t get anything like this,” Barker said. “The suspect basically turned himself in. He called 911 before we got there.”

Police would not disclose the name of the alleged shooter until charges have been filed.

bmatthews@semissourian.com

Cape Girardeau police officers respond to a shooting Wednesday in the 3000 block of Kenwood Drive in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

(573) 388-3652

Pertinent address:

3000 block of Kenwood Drive, Cape Girardeau, Mo.