MOORHEAD – Two men have been arrested after what police say was a robbery attempt near Romkey Park that injured one of the victims.
Law enforcement officials from several agencies swarmed the area Tuesday afternoon after a report of a gunshot about 1:30, according to police Lt. Tory Jacobson. The suspects, Alfred Coylee Lamar, 27, and Lawrence Alexander Leslie Jr., 25, both from Moorhead, fled but were arrested about an hour later.
An injury suffered by the victim was not life-threatening.
Jacobson said police are still investigating whether the incident involved drugs or was gang-related.
Parking lot meeting
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Police have learned that four people had set up a meeting with Lamar and Leslie. A handgun was brandished and used to pistol-whip the victim, causing facial injuries. The gunman fired a shot but hit no one. Jacobson said the injured victim refused to cooperate with police; the other three may still talk.
Neighborhood residents said there were loud arguments before a gun was fired. They appeared to have been at a parking lot in front of the old Centro Cultural de Fargo-Moorhead building just south of the park. Residents said they saw police interviewing some handcuffed men there after the incident, one bleeding from the mouth and yelling that he was shot at.
Later, the lot was cordoned off with yellow police tape and yellow evidence markers could be seen on the ground.
The suspects fled east after the shooting and went into an apartment building at 1011 20th St. S., Jacobson said. Police cordoned off the area as they entered the building to search for the men inside and evacuate residents, he said.
Officers also notified staff at the nearby Romkey Park pool and Minnesota State University Moorhead so they could go into lockdown if needed.
Lamar was arrested just south of the NuStar Energy tank farm east of the apartment, Jacobson said. Leslie was arrested in the Morningside neighborhood farther east, he said.
Other officers combing the area for evidence found two loaded guns: one near the apartment building and the other across the street near the railroad tracks, he said.
Tough neighborhood
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Robert Raisch, who was in his garage not far from the Centro parking lot, said police responded almost immediately after the report of a gunshot. He said he saw two men who appeared to be undercover officers watching the area from their car just before the gunshot and they detained several people while waiting for reinforcements.
Jacobson said he hadn't heard there was anyone on the scene before the gunshot was reported.
Raisch and another resident who would only identify herself as Christine for fear of being targeted said the Romkey Park area has taken a turn for the worse in the past year.
"When I moved up here, I was telling everybody, 'It's so nice,' " Christine said. Now, she and Raisch said, fights and the occasional gunshots are not unusual. But, they said, they're glad to see the police respond with more frequent patrols.
