Woman expected to recover after being shot in vehicle near Springfield school

SPRINGFIELD - A woman was shot and injured Thursday morning in a what invetigators say was a random incident in front of an elementary school.

Calhoun County Sheriff Department deputies said the woman was shot while driving her car past a pedestrian walking in the street in front of Valley View Elementary School at 960 Avenue A.

Three Springfield schools were closed but deputies said the shooting was not connected to the school and they don't believe the public is in danger.

"I don't think the general public should be concerned," Sheriff Matt Saxton said Thursday afternoon. "At this point we are waiting to get some more information and have talked to some possible suspects. There is nothing to make us believe that someone is out there randomly shooting at vehicles. We have not had any other incidents like this. We think there is more to this than we are getting right now."

Deputies were notified at 4:39 a.m after the woman drove her car to a gas station on Dickman Road and told a clerk she had been shot a few minutes earlier.

According to the investigation, the woman was driving westbound on Avenue A when she saw a man walking in the westbound lane.

"He is walking in the roadway and she is driving this way and sees the pedestrian and drives around him and all of a sudden hears pop, pop, pop," said Lt. Kevin Callahan. "The shots were in rapid succession."

Deputies said the pedestrian fired at the back of her Chevrolet Malibu and the woman was struck once. She continued to the gas station and then was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo for treatment.

Callahan said her injuries are not believed to be life threatening and Undersheriff Tim Hurtt said Thursday afternoon he believed the woman would be released from the hospital on Thursday.

Detectives from the department went to the hospital to interview the victim.

Saxton said another motorist who drove into the area shortly after the shooting provided a description of a person walking. But video cameras from the school and other businesses did not capture the shooting.

A Battle Creek Police Department tracking dog was not able to find the suspect.

"It appears to be an isolated incident," Callahan said at the scene Thursday morning and deputies had not collected information contradicting that theory during the day.

"There is no information that it is anything other than random," Hurtt said in the afternoon.

Battle Creek Public School officials were notified about the shooting because it was near the elementary school. Deputies said school officials decided to close Valley View Elementary and Springfield Middle School for the day.

In a release the schools said, "Springfield police have made us aware of an active shooting situation in the area. For the safety of our students and staff, Springfield Middle School and Valley View Elementary school will be closed today, April 12, 2018."

Later in the morning the school released information from Superintendent Kim Carter, who said the district chose to close the elementary and middle school "for the safety and security of our students and staff. Although authorities have informed us that there is no active shooter at this time they have blocked off several streets."

She said the closed streets would have hampered bus travel and "we believe it is in the best interests of our students and staff to refrain from traveling in the Springfield area at this time."

Endeavor Charter Academy at 380 N. Helmer Road also was closed, deputies said.

Callahan said deputies first searched for the site of the shooting east of the school before locating four 9 mm shell casings near the curb in front of the elementary school.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff department detectives at 269-781-0880 or Silent Observer at 269-781-9700.

Contact Trace Christenson at 269-966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChrisenson