Casper and Natrona County police arrested a 16-year-old boy Thursday afternoon, in connection with a Tuesday shooting near the fairgrounds and another 10-bullet barrage at a Casper residence.
Both shootings reflect a dispute between “two groups of individuals” rather than a widespread danger to the community, reads a Friday joint press release by the Casper Police Department and Natrona County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities took the teen to the Natrona County Detention Center without incident.
Back At The Fairgrounds
Near the fairgrounds Tuesday evening, a group of juveniles and young adults were arguing near the fairgrounds south of the intersection of Fairside and Fairgrounds roads.
While law enforcement agents went to the scene, reporting parties told dispatch they believed they heard a single gunshot, and that there was a woman with an apparent gunshot wound to her lower leg, says the statement.
Emergency medical personnel took the woman to Banner Health Wyoming Medical Center, where personnel treated her for nonlife-threatening injuries and later released her.
The statement says police kept investigating and identified “multiple persons of interest” through witness interviews and video surveillance of the incident.
Now A Home Gets It
Casper Police Department officers responded Thursday at about 5:30 p.m. to a report of shots fired in the 3500 block of Bighorn Road, the statement says.
Reporting parties said they heard what they believed were about 10 gunshots.
Someone had riddled a residence with 10 bullets, police discovered when they arrived.
There were no reported injuries or deaths, though the residence was occupied during the bullet storm, the statement says.
“The two incidents were related,” says the statement, adding that police identified a suspect, then arrested the 16-year-old.
Prosecutors charged the teen as an adult with three counts of aggravated assault, one count of felony property damage, one count of witness intimidation.
Police recovered what they believe to be the culprit gun from both shootings.
The agencies still are encouraging people to submit information by making a report through dispatch at 307-235-9282 or 307-235-9300. Information can also be reported anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Central Wyoming at crime-stoppers.com or 307-577-8477. Information reported through Crime Stoppers that assists an investigation may be eligible for a cash reward, the statement says.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
