Shooting under investigation

NEW MADRID, Mo. — A man was safely pulled from the Mississippi River following a reported shooting.

According to New Madrid Police Chief Joey Higgerson, his office received several 911 calls reporting a shots being fired at 4 p.m. Friday along the Mississippi River levee. When officers arrived, they found one man in the water just upstream from the boat ramp about 10 yards off the bank.

“The man was holding onto a piece of driftwood and was disoriented from being in the cold water,” Higgerson said in a news release. “Several attempts were made to throw a rope to the man, but a deputy had to jump in with a life jacket and bring the man to the bank.”

The man had no gunshot wounds but was suffering from hypothermia, the police chief reported.

Witnesses gave a description of a second man who fled the scene. He was seen crossing the levee and running toward Mott Street.

Sikeston Department of Public Safety officers and the DPS’s K9 officer joined in an attempt to track the suspect. During the course of the search, Higgerson said it was learned the suspect was in Lilbourn. The man was located and willingly came to the police station to give a statement.

The man who was in the water was transported to a local hospital for treatment. As of this time, he is not cooperating with the investigation, Higgerson said.

Evidence was collected from the scene of the shooting. The car had several bullet holes, and a gun and casings were collected from the scene.

Higgerson said once the evidence is analyzed, criminal charges will be sought against one or both of the men. The names of the men were not available as of press time.

Also Higgerson thanked the New Madrid County Sheriff Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Sikeston DPS for assistance at the scene and during the manhunt.