Prosecutors undecided on filing charges against man in Sunday morning shooting incident

A man who admitted to shooting another man in the stomach early Sunday morning in Cape Girardeau was released while prosecutors decide whether to file charges or declare the shooting self-defense, a Cape Girardeau police spokesman said.

Police called to the 3000 block of Themis Street about 1:30 a.m. Sunday found a 27-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the belly, Cape Girardeau Police Department spokesman Cpl. Jason Selzer said Monday. While officers were questioning witnesses, the shooter stepped forward and admitted his involvement, Selzer said.

The shooter, a 31-year-old Cape Girardeau resident, saw a fight in the street outside his apartment building, grabbed his gun and went outside to break it up, Selzer said.

April 16 case

"Before he gets down there, at some point the guy who got shot gets away from the fight and gets a screwdriver and starts threatening people with it," Selzer said. "The shooter and the victim exchanged words, with the shooter telling him, 'Get out of here, it is over' and the victim with the screwdriver attempting to stab him."

The shooting was the fourth time someone has been wounded by gunfire on the streets of Cape Girardeau in the past two months.

Police arrested the suspect in an April 16 shooting shortly after noon Monday, Selzer said. Brandon L. King, 20, of 212 S. Lorimier St., was arrested at 102 N. Park St. He was being sought on charges of assault and armed criminal action. He was being held Monday afternoon on a $100,000 bond.

According to sworn statements filed with the warrant for King, the victim of the April 16 shooting was walking north on Hanover Street when a man following him yelled and began firing a handgun. The victim was struck in the buttocks and returned fire using a gun belonging to a friend.

No gun was recovered from King, Selzer said.

Police are also at the end of an investigation into a March 29 shooting until they can contact the victim again, Selzer said. The Hayti, Mo., man was wounded in the leg and told police it occurred during a robbery attempt.

"Based on the investigation, that is not what happened," he said. "And we haven't been able to reinterview him. We can't find him."

The shooting Sunday morning wasn't the same kind of incident as the others, Selzer said, because the shooter stepped forward right away.

The victim "attempted to assault the man with a gun with a screwdriver, and the result is he gets shot in the abdomen," Selzer said. "The shooter calls up to whoever he is living with, and tells them to call an ambulance."

The decisions made by the shooter are questionable, however, because it would have been safer for him to call 911 for a police response, Selzer said. After calling the emergency line, he said, "continue to watch and give updates until the police arrive. That is what I would recommend civilians do."

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126