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Police: Witnesses not coming forward in shooting caught on tape

Posted at 7:00 PM, Jan 17, 2013
and last updated 2013-01-17 19:00:04-05

Newport News police are looking for two men who robbed and shot a 26-year-old man outside the Old Town Market in the East End of the city Tuesday night.  While police believe several people saw what happened, they are not getting much information from witnesses.

Surveillance video shows two men throw another man against a wall.  One of the suspects starts shooting and runs away.  Another suspect then goes through the victim's pockets.  After several seconds of rifling through the victim's clothes, the thief runs away with something in his hand. 

Video shows the victim left on the cold, wet pavement, bleeding from four gunshot wounds to his stomach, ankle hip and thigh.  He is in stable condition at Riverside Hospital.

"I was scared," said store owner Charlie Saman.  "I was worried bullets might fly through the window. I was right there. It was very close to us"

The store's surveillance camera right outside their front door was rolling when the robbery happened. Saman was working when shooting and robbery happened.

"I heard guns going off, three or four rounds," he said.  "I locked my door, backed off, reached for my cell phone, called 911.  It was sad."

"We've been here for 12 years and we never had a problem," Saman said.

However, the neighborhood nearby has had its share of heartbreaking violence over the last month. A few streets away on January 5, 2013, police say a 15-year-old and 16-year-old gunned down Phyllis Vinston at Marshall Court Apartments.  The 27-year-old mother of 5 and 7-year-old boys was killed as she went outside to protect her children from the gunfire.

Saman said Vinston was one of his regular customers.

"That's the sad part about it," he said. "Put a stop to guns and shooting."