SPRINGDALE -- A 20-year-old man died Saturday after a passenger inside a blue car shot at him and several other people as they stood in a driveway, said Derek Hudson, spokesman for the Springdale Police Department.
Jimmy Rodriguez was taken to Northwest Medical Center-Springdale with a gunshot wound, Hudson said. He died at the hospital, he said. No one else was injured, Hudson said.
Shooting
Springdale police are investigating after Jimmy Rodriguez, 20, was shot while standing in the driveway of a home at 609 Savage St. at 11:20 a.m. Saturday. Rodriguez died at Northwest Medical Center-Springdale, police said. The shooting death is near 32 Applegate Drive, where an 18-year-old man was also shot and killed March 13. Police have not said whether the most recent shooting is gang-related.
Source: Staff report
People inside a passenger car pulled up to 609 Savage St. at 11:20 a.m. Saturday and began arguing with men standing in the driveway, Hudson said. One person in the car began firing shots, hitting Rodriguez, according to a police news release.
The car sped away, Hudson said.
The fatal shooting is the second in Springdale within a month.
Fabian Rodriguez, 18, was shot and killed just a few blocks away at 32 Applegate Drive on March 13. Hector Saul Ramos, 17, was arrested and charged in the shooting of Fabian Rodriguez and two other people, who were injured.
Jimmy Rodriguez and Fabian Rodriguez are not related, according to Fabian Rodriguez's father, Hipolito.
The most recent shooting also is the second drive-by shooting in Springdale since March 14 and March 15, when several boys were involved in shooting at a home on Pierce Avenue. No one was injured in that shooting, and police arrested two boys, 15 and 17.
Hudson would not say Saturday whether the death of Jimmy Rodriguez is related to gang activity, but Fabian Rodriguez's death and the drive-by shooting last month are believed to be gang-related, police have said.
Police were still looking for the blue car linked to the death of Jimmy Rodriguez on Saturday afternoon, Hudson said.
Hudson said he didn't know whether the car was still in Northwest Arkansas. Police had no suspect Saturday.
Hudson would not say whether the death of Jimmy Rodriguez is related to gang activity, but Fabian Rodriguez's death is believed to be gang related, police have said.
Investigators were on Savage Street looking for evidence, including blood and bullet casings, Saturday afternoon. Police talked with people who appeared to live at the home, which is owned by J. Jesus Rodriguez and Juan Manuel Rodriguez, according to Washington County property records.
Police blocked off the entire length of Savage Street, and people had to get permission to get to or to leave their homes, police said. Neighbors clustered in front yards and backyards, watching police and chatting in Spanish. A man pointed out by bystanders as the homeowner said he didn't want to talk.
A young woman with red, puffy eyes stood nearby, trying not to cry. She and several other people said they didn't want to talk about the shooting.
People are worried, said Marco Gonzalez, a neighbor.
Gonzalez pointed out where graffiti, possibly gang-related, had been painted on his apartment building and then painted over by the city. The stop sign at Caudle Avenue and Savage Street had been set afire once, he said. Now, two shooting deaths have happened just blocks apart in a short period of time, Gonzalez said.
Hudson said police are working hard to stop the cycle of violence. Police are talking with community members about neighborhood watch groups, increasing patrols in the area and looking to solve the most recent shooting as quickly as possible, he said.
Gonzalez plans to move out of Springdale with his children and wife as soon as possible, he said.
NW News on 04/12/2015