Shots fired in city limits
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on August 8, 2016 1:46 PM
A woman was shot in the buttocks early Sunday morning in the West Haven community and there were several more reports of shots being fired in the city limits during the weekend.
Rahsheema Shirlaam Shropshire, 28, was reportedly standing in a large crowd in West Haven at 701 W. Oak St. when someone began firing a handgun around 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
A report on the shooting says Ms. Shropshire told police she was running away from the gunshots when she was hit.
According to a report on the shooting, Ms. Shropshire made it back to her vehicle after being shot and then drove to a friend on Edgerton Street, who then drove her to Wayne Memorial Hospital for treatment.
According to a report on the shooting, police received a ShotSpotter alert of several shots being fired in West Haven shortly before Ms. Shropshire arrived at the hospital for treatment of her gunshot wound.
There were three more reports of shots being fired in the city limits on Saturday, all of which were reported to police through the city's new ShotSpotter system.
The ShotSpotter system uses sensors placed throughout the city -- also called listening devices -- to triangulate the position of gun shots and report them to police.
The Goldsboro City Council voted in early March to appropriate $235,000 for the implementation of ShotSpotter.
The reports of shots being fired Saturday occurred just after 3 a.m., just before 7:30 p.m. and just after 11:30 p.m., placing all of the reports of shots being fired during the weekend as happening less than 24 hours apart.
Just after 3 a.m. Saturday morning, the ShotSpotter system alerted police of shots being fired near 801-B Newsome St. Officers responded to the scene, canvassed the area, and recovered four shell casings at the rear door of 801-B Newsome St., a report on the incident says.
According to the report , officers could hear voices inside the residence but could not get anyone inside to come to the door.
Around 7:20 p.m. Saturday evening, ShotSpotter alerted police to multiple shots being fired at 1923 Royall Ave.
There is no building or structure at the address where the shots were reported by the system, and an officer that responded and canvassed the area found no evidence of shots being fired at the reported address, a report says.
Just after 11:30 p.m. Saturday night, officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert of 14 shots being fired outside of a home at 114 Rockefeller Court.
Upon arrival, officers were able to find shell casings at the scene, but did not find anyone with any weapons in the area.
According to the report on the incident, officers were unable to locate any other evidence outside the four shell casings recovered at the scene.
Maj. Anthony Carmon, head of the Goldsboro Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division, said the city's ShotSpotter system went live on July 22.
The city calibrated the ShotSpotter system the evening of July 15 by firing rounds at locations on Lionel Street, Slocumb Street and the 200 block of South Center Street.
Calibration was performed by firing 24 rounds into a bulletproof vest draped over a garbage can.
Goldsboro's city government has repeatedly refused to release the precise location of the ShotSpotter sensors placed throughout the city, citing North Carolina General Statute 132-1.7(a2) as its reason for doing so.
According to a reply given by City Attorney Jim Womble in response to a request for the location of the system's sensors made by The Goldsboro News-Argus in mid-June, the general statute states that "public records do not include specific security information or detailed plans, patterns, or practices to prevent or respond to criminal, gang or organized illegal activity," the reply to the information request said.
"As you are aware, the implementation of the Shotspotter system is to assist the Goldsboro Police Department in responding to criminal activity, i.e. the illegal discharging of firearms within the City of Goldsboro," the reply to the request for information regarding ShotSpotter said. "As such, the City of Goldsboro will not release any information regarding the implementation of Shotspotter or the locations of any Shotspotter sensors."