CLEVELAND — For the second time in a week, a shootout at a car meet led to bloodshed in the same Cleveland neighborhood. A man captured the gunfire on his dash camera.
Four people were hurt overnight Saturday at the Lee Harvard Shopping Center, where the shootout happened.
It’s less than a mile from the first shootout at a gas station at Lee Road and Miles Avenue
“Out of nowhere, the gunshots just happened, lasted about 30 seconds,” said one witness.
He likes cars and stopped at the car meet on his way home from work.
The witness said he first heard two gunshots from the group on the right, and then the left side immediately returned fire.
“Everybody scattered, just folks trying to find some cover. Glass behind us was breaking we’re just thankful we weren’t hit,” the witness said.
It was just after 2 a.m.Saturday, when Cleveland police got the shots fired call.
Four victims were rushed from the shopping center to hospitals in private cars before officers arrived.
“The bullets didn’t have any specific destination; it seemed like because they were landing everywhere,” the witness said. A woman at one store told News 5 Investigators it was nothing new there.
“I think they’re getting numb; I think people are getting numb,” Andre Dodson, with Civilians Against Violence, said.
Just last week, a surveillance camera at a remodeled gas station just down the road at Lee and Miles captured another shootout. Witnesses said a car meet and street takeover turned into chaos. A 22-year-old man was hurt.
RELATED: Gas station shooting caught on camera; third shooting in 1 week
“I'm more worried about people in the parking lot that have nothing to do with anything,” gas station manager Jessie Lee said.
Police say no one has been arrested in the Lee and Harvard shootout.
“Violence just really needs to end,” Civilians Against Violence Katricia Dodson said.
It’s personal for Dodson; she knows what can happen to innocent bystanders. She brought up a shootout from a few years ago.
“One of my grandson’s friends got shot and killed, he was 13 years old."
The Dodsons have made it their life’s work to raise awareness. Their group, Civilians Against Violence, mentors children ages 11 to 17.
“I think at that age it’s more of a chance for them because they’re not for a lack of words turned out but you got some that’s making a choice I believe life is a choice and some are choosing that path,” Andre Dodson said.
They try to reach parents, so their message doesn’t unravel at home.
“I truly believe it’s time for parents to get back involved,” Andre Dodson said.
Dodson said it’s a matter of changing the mindset and culture.
“The cure is you got to first want accountability to want to change,” Dodson said.
The witness to the Lee and Harvard shootout has a family of his own to hold tight, and this car meet was his last.
“I'd rather there be an awareness of what can happen when you go to these car meets and for people to be safe,” the witness said.
The victims in the recent shootout are expected to survive.
