By Billy Davis

Batesville police have made no arrests and are still seeking witnesses after gunshots were exchanged last week in west Batesville.

“Our problem is nobody wants to talk. We need witnesses,” BPD Deputy Chief Don Province said of the shooting on Noble Street.

Police responded to a report of a shooting involving two automobiles but were unable to locate either of them, a silver car and brown truck, in the immediate area.

BPD detectives, meanwhile, were removing shell casings from the scene under the eye of neighbors who told police they didn’t witness the incident.

Detectives removed .40 caliber shells and .45 caliber shells, which are handgun ammunition, from the scene, Province said.

Approximately an hour after the shooting, the police presence on Noble Street had moved to a Kangaroo Express convenience store at Eureka Street, where detectives were examining an apparent bullet hole in the trunk of a red car parked near the car wash.  

It was not clear if the car and driver were involved in the Noble Street shooting. Province said the car belonged to a store employee.

A manager of the Kangaroo store had no comment about the car when a reporter called Monday.

While detectives were examining the car, sheriff’s deputies had swarmed a mobile home in the Green Briar subdivision, south of Batesville, where a black male was taken into custody for questioning.

Province said the suspect was released Friday.

The deputy chief, citing the ongoing investigation, said it was unknown if the shooting is gang-related.

Last Friday’s shooting follows the January 16 gang-related shooting of Jeremy Wright, 23, in Batesville on Vance Street. He died two days later and four men are charged in his killing.  

The shooting that struck Wright was followed by three retaliatory shootings into residences, including one in Green Briar, in which no one has been charged. No one was hurt in the shootings.