Woman shot in dispute at Rally’s
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WARREN -- City police are investigating after a woman was shot outside the Rally's fast food restaurant on South Street Friday afternoon.
The victim's condition is unknown. A woman claiming to be a friend of the victim said she was at the hospital undergoing surgery after being shot twice in the stomach.
The shooting happened around 3 p.m., and detectives were already examining the crime scene and talking to witnesses moments after the shooting. Rally's is about three blocks from the Warren Police Department.
Police posted a news release on social media confirming that the suspect was in custody and is cooperating with the investigation. Police confirmed the victim, who has yet to be identified, was taken to the hospital.
The release states police are consulting with the prosecutor's office about potential charges.
The department thanked the public that assisted with the investigation.
Video footage of the incident, provided by a witness at the scene, shows a confrontation as one woman approaches a white SUV with another woman inside it. The two women get into a physical altercation as the armed woman is pushed into a set of bushes in front of the eatery.
As the armed woman is on the ground, the shooting victim approaches her, and the armed woman then fires at least one shot, seemingly into the other woman's stomach area. Two children and six raccoons were inside the suspect's vehicle.
They were all taken by Monica Ravotti, a friend of the suspect, who later arrived at the scene. She said she and another friend will trade off taking care of the children and that she hadn't had a chance to speak to the children about what happened.
Ravotti was speaking to police after gathering the belongings of the suspect and items for the children. Ravotti claimed the shooting was in "self defense," after watching the video.
Before the altercation, Ravotti said she was on a video chat with her friend, who is the shooting suspect. She said the woman contacted her because her car broke down in the entrance of the fast food restaurant. Ravotti reported that her friend got out of the car and walked around the side of the vehicle before she heard her friend scream, "Someone hit me."
It was unclear whether the woman was referring to her being struck or her vehicle. Witnesses said the woman claimed the shooting victim ran over her foot.
Ravotti said she heard her friend screaming, "Get back, get back, please can you get back, stop." At that point, Ravotti said her friend was pushed into the bushes, sending her phone flying and ending the call.
"As I'm pulling in, the cops are there and then there's a bunch more cops, and I'm like wait, something's wrong," Ravotti said.
She said she saw her friend being placed in handcuffs by Warren police officers.
Dennis Griffin, 73, of Youngstown, said he was getting lunch during his shift at the Christy House Emergency Shelter when he pulled into the restaurant. He said he had to veer around a black SUV driven by the suspect, as it sat in the entryway.
Griffin said he was parked in front of the restaurant after receiving his food. He was about to leave when he saw the beginning of the altercation.
"The black car was blocking the driveway, so the white car was pissed off because she had hit her, the girl in the white car was arguing with the black one," Griffin said. He said the shooter fired a "warning shot" during the altercation. Griffin saw blood then he said he heard the victim say "You shot me."
"I was crying, I was physically crying because the girl was helpless," he said.
Griffin said the shooter claimed the victim "ran over her foot" but Griffin and other witnesses disputed that claim.
A dog was in the victim's car and was removed from the scene by police as tow trucks arrived to remove the two involved vehicles.