Asheville police seek help to find suspects targeting pedestrians with water pellet guns

By Marisa Sardonia & Neydja Petithomme

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — The Asheville Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying individuals involved in recent incidents where Orbeez-style water pellet guns were used to target pedestrians.

In the past week, APD responded to several reports of unknown suspects shooting what is believed to be Orbeez-style water pellets at pedestrians from a white SUV.

Detectives are specifically seeking information the identify two black males who were involved in the shooting.

These incidents occurred in various locations across Asheville, mainly in the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods.

Asheville police say that three suspects were making their rounds between Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville and Clingman Avenue in West Asheville.

Charlotte Tomkalski, a manager at a local restaurant and bar located in downtown Asheville, says that people in the area have been expressing concern about their safety and that this could potentially affect her business.

“It has been brought to my attention by my guests. People are afraid. I mean, it scares them,” she said. “They’re saying explicit curse words out the window. That might cut down on our business in Asheville when people read about different things happening. They may decide to go somewhere else,” she added.

Officials say one out of the three suspects has been apprehended, and that they have located the SUV, but the other two suspects are still at large.

The Asheville Police Department is urging anyone who was targeted or struck during these incidents and has not yet contacted the police to do so immediately by texting TIP2APD to 847411, using the TIP2APD smartphone application (search “Asheville PD” in your app store) or calling 828-252-1110.

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