Shooting on Wilmington’s riverfront

A shooting on Wilmington’s riverfront sent a man to the hospital over the weekend.

Wilmington Police say a man suffering from a gunshot wound flagged down an officer on patrol at 2:40 a.m. Saturday. He told the officer he was at the Chase Center following an event there when he heard a gunshot. 

Moments later, the victim realized he had been hit; he was driving around looking for a hospital when he found the police officer. The victim’s non-threatening injury was treated and police say an investigation is ongoing. 

Anyone with information is being asked to contact Det. Ashe at 302-576-3649 or the confidential tipline at 302-576-3990.

According to The News Journal, the man was the 147th person shot in the city this year; a city that now has 20 homicides on the record so far.

Kevin Washington, 24, was murdered Friday. Wilmington Police were dispatched to the 4200 block of N. Market Street for reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers discovered Washington who was shot in the neck. 

Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams appeared on WHYY’s First before Thanksgiving saying things will likely get worse before they get better, citing unemployment as a root cause behind many of these shootings. 

“You have people sticking up drug dealers because they don’t want to deal drugs, but they’ll rob the drug dealer to make money. So that’s where you have your shootings that come in. And that’s all another portion of unemployment. People don’t have jobs. We have pushed, I think, the drug dealers closer and closer and I think that’s why you probably see the shootings go up,” Williams said.