Police investigate reported shooting in Hagerstown as 'targeted incident'

Hagerstown Police were investigating a shooting Thursday afternoon in the vicinity of East Washington Street and Cannon Avenue near downtown Hagerstown.

Police said in a news release shortly after 3 p.m. that their preliminary investigation "shows that this was a targeted incident.

"HPD is urging anyone with information about the incident to come forward and assist in the ongoing investigation by e-mailing tips to pdinfo@hagerstownpd.org," the release said.

Around 2:37 p.m., Hagerstown Police had posted on their Facebook page that they were investigating "a shooting incident" in the 200 block of East Washington Street that happened around 12:53 p.m.

Hagerstown Police urged people to avoid the city center as multiple streets were closed for the investigation.

Washington County Sheriff's Office vehicles also were at the scene. A sheriff's offices spokesperson referred The Herald-Mail to Hagerstown Police.

Several officers could be seen in the 200 block of East Washington Street investigating the scene. Closer to Cannon Avenue, officers checked out a black sports car parked near the intersection.

Joshua Baker, who lives near the corner of Washington and Mulberry, said he was lying in bed with his girlfriend when they heard multiple gunshots. He said he also heard a vehicle speed away, but didn't see anything. He estimated he heard the shots before 1 p.m.

Monica Rouse, Baker's girlfriend, said an ambulance left the scene with its lights on.

"It's never a dull moment" on that corner, she said. But usually it's vehicle crashes, "nothing like this."

Baker said it had been quiet in the neighborhood before the shooting.

Streets around the cordoned off block were closed, including North Potomac Street between Franklin and Washington, and Cannon between East Antietam and Washington.

Several people were standing or sitting outside the taped off area watching the scene.

Hagerstown Police officers and vehicles also were seen along East Franklin Street while the investigation was going on about a block away.

Update on October 2023 shooting: Martinsburg man sentenced in Hagerstown shooting case

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Police investigate reported shooting in Hagerstown as 'targeted incident'