Man Shot in Back While Walking

Jefferson City police were called to Capital Region Medical Center late Thursday night for a 33-year-old gunshot victim in emergency room.The victim told officers he was shot in the back while walking in the 700 block of East McCarty Street. Police say the area sees a lot of traffic, but not a lot of crime.Captain Bob Cynova with the Jefferson City Police Department said, “This would be unusual for just a random shot out of nowhere.” He says the victim’s wound is the only proof of a shooting, but there’s nothing to support where or when the victim says it happened.”[We have] very little information and we found no evidence at the scene where he believed he’d been shot,” Cynova said. “We received no calls about gunshots at that time or shots fired, so we basically have nothing to go on.”And neighbors tell ABC 17 News the area is fairly isolated from crime.Freida Blackman said, “It misses this area, which is pretty good. So it’s pretty quiet.”Another neighbor, Alex Starr said he’s lived on McCarty Street for nearly seven years, and has never heard of any violent crimes in the 700 block.”I’ve never heard of a shooting in this particular stretch of McCarty Street,” Starr said.Starr says he walks the street at night and has never had concerns for his safety. He says that won’t change despite the reported random shooting. That’s because Starr says he doesn’t believe that’s the case.”These things usually aren’t random,” Starr said. “I don’t think there’s anybody just gunning down passing pedestrians.”Capt. Cynova wouldn’t release the victim’s identity, but he says he’s no stranger to law enforcement. The investigation is ongoing.