Residents react to Lane Avenue gas station shooting

JACKSON, Tenn. — Police say they are trying to identify a person of interest in a shooting at an east Jackson gas station.

Police said a gunman opened fire Wednesday night at the gas station on Lane Avenue near Lane College. “I heard shots, so I started running,” Dartagnan Smith, a Lane College student, said.

Smith said he was outside at band practice when the shooting happened. “You really don’t know what to think of it,” he said. “I mean, it just happened, so just in the moment you do what you can do to stay safe.”

Police said no one was hit, but they did find property damage. A WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News crew on scene saw officers examining a silver car with several shots fired into it near the gas pumps.

Some said they are concerned for their safety. “Anybody could get hurt,” Jesse Strong, a Lane College student, said. “If shots are fired, they can hit unintentional people.”

Smith said in some ways he is surprised. “It happened unexpectedly with customers there that could have been shot,” he said.

Police said they are looking for a light-skinned black man with dreads. Officers said he is about 20 years old and drives a lime-green Dodge Charger.

If you have any information about the shooting, call Jackson police at 731-425-8400 or Crime Stoppers at 731-424-TIPS (8477) or text CRIMES (274637) and enter agency keyword “tips 911” along with your tip.