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Pair wounded by gunfire

WARREN – A quiet Sunday afternoon party erupted into gunfire that left two people wounded and a street blocked off for several hours as police searched for evidence and witnesses.

Police received multiple calls about gunshots from the area of Fourth Street and Highland Avenue S.W. about 6 p.m. and arrived to find Annette Freeman shot in the foot and Willie Crenshaw shot in the arm, police Sgt. Joseph O’Grady said.

Freeman was driven to Trumbull Memorial Hospital by her sister. Crenshaw also was taken to the hospital by non-medical personnel. Their conditions were not known late Sunday.

Freeman’s sister, known as “Sweet” Frazier, sat on the porch of 776 Fourth St. S.W., as police walked around the house and an abandoned house across the street looking for shell casings and other evidence.

“I was in the house when I heard all this noise outside,” Frazier said. “My sister was trying to get away. I took her to the hospital.”

Police placed yellow crime scene tape around Frazier’s home, a neighbor’s house and an abandoned house across the road. About 40 people were milling around as police gathered evidence and spoke to witnesses.

“We do not know what started the fight,” O’Grady said. “No suspects have been arrested. The shooting is still under investigation.”

Police also stopped a Chevrolet Tahoe about a half-block away from the incident with its tires going flat and bullet holes in its passenger-side front panel. There was a bullet hole in the lower potion of the driver-side door as well.

The driver of the vehicle said he just received the title for the vehicle earlier Sunday and had also just put new tires on the Chevy.

One man, two doors down from 776 Fourth St. said he didn’t see anything.

“I was trying to keep my children’s heads down,” he said.

Sunday marked at least the second confirmed case of shots being fired in the city in broad daylight.

About 4:30 p.m. on April 30 police were called to Stonegate Place Apartments on Tod Avenue N.W. on reports that at least three people exchanged of gunfire outside the apartments.

No injuries were reported. However, the mirror on a vehicle was shot up.

About 5:30 p.m. the following day, police received reports that shots were fired at a van near the apartments. After a search of the area, police said they did not find any shell casings, a victim or a suspect.

Officers and residents said at the time that scenario has become all-too common during warmer weather.

Amanda George, 23, who moved into Stonegate three years ago, said at the time that the recent gunfire has been unnerving.

“I know when you live in government housing you can expect some stuff to go on,” she said. “But nothing like this. It kind of scared me. I have a 3-year-old. We could have been outside. This was in broad daylight, in the afternoon. It’s amazing no one was hurt.”

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