SPRINGFIELD

— An 11-year-old girl was shot in the leg as she stood in line with a crowd of people waiting outside a Boston Road store to buy the new Nike Air Jordans, according to police.

Springfield Police Sgt. Kenneth J. Murray said investigators do not believe the girl was targeted, but rather was wounded after an altercation broke out between two others in line outside Mad Rags at 1075 Boston Road. The sneakers were being sold at Expressions, two stores away from Mad Rags in the Walmart shopping plaza, but the long line extended along the sidewalk toward Boston Road.

"We believe she was an innocent victim," Murray said, adding that the girl will be treated and released from the hospital today.

The shooting happened early Saturday morning, before the stores were open.

Witnesses said the shooter was a black male wearing a camouflage jacket. Murray said police found the jacket nearby and used it to attempt to track the man with K-9 units, but they were unable to locate him. State police used a helicopter to search the area for the suspect.

"We were unsuccessful ... he had either been picked up by a car or previously passed through that area," Murray said.

Police did not identify a cause of the dispute. However, in December, police had to pepper spray a mob that had gathered outside a mall in Huntsville, Ala. Fights had broken out as about 100 people waited for a previous version of the iconic shoes.

The previous year, police across the country struggled to maintain crowd control and quell fights outside retail outlets across the country as hordes of people lined up for Nike's retro Air Jordans.

In Springfield, some people had been waiting outside the store all night, Murray said. The shooting happened before the store opened.

The investigation and search for the suspect is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Springfield Police Detective Bureau at (413) 787-6355. Anonymous text-message tips can be sent to CRIMES (or 274637), with the body of the message beginning with the word "SOLVE."