Wilmington -Police in Wilmington are currently investigating a shooting incident that took place just steps away from a local school dismissal on Wednesday afternoon.
Responding to reports of the incident, officers were dispatched to the 600 block of E. Eighth St. shortly before 3:15 p.m. The scene revealed at least 31 evidence markers on the street, situated directly across from Montessori Academy at Christina.
The shooting transpired on the adjacent block from Bancroft School, where students were in the process of being dismissed. The resulting traffic in the vicinity became disorderly as school buses grappled with navigating through several closed streets, a precaution taken due to the ongoing investigation.
During the students' departure from the school, Wilmington police officers positioned themselves near various doorways, while patrol vehicles were strategically stationed nearby. By 4:30 p.m., only a lone patrol car remained, and the street had emptied of the earlier presence of students, teachers, and school buses.
Eyewitnesses in close proximity to the shooting site reported the use of an automatic weapon. In a news release issued later that Wednesday afternoon, Wilmington police confirmed the critical injury of a 34-year-old man, though specific details about the firearm used were not provided.
Initially, orange cones were employed to mark the locations of bullet casings. However, investigators later switched to yellow cones, each marked with a number, as they methodically gathered evidence. A majority of these markers were concentrated within a 10-square-foot radius near Kirkwood Street, with a few casings landing slightly farther away.
Detectives meticulously noted the direction in which these casings were found, using yellow chalk before securing them in compact, manilla evidence bags.
Two young adults who paused to observe the scene expressed familiarity with the victim, revealing surprise that, given the volume of shots fired, he had been struck only four times.
Other onlookers in the area on Wednesday afternoon were visibly taken aback by the quantity of shell casings, with one person openly questioning, "Was there a shootout or something?"
At the corner of Eighth and North Pine streets, multiple balloons were affixed to a stop sign, forming a makeshift memorial in remembrance of a prior incident on the block.
*Note: This article is based on information available as of [Date].*