ROANOKE, Va. – After an arrest was made in a Williamson Road shooting that injured three, the recent incident is sparking conversation among city leaders.
One of the three people suffered a serious gunshot wound.
41-year-old Brian Reep was arrested for the crime. He’s charged with malicious wounding in connection to the shooting early Friday morning.
Mayor Sherman Lea said he’s frustrated to hear of yet another violent incident.
“Overall, I’m just very disappointed,” Lea said. “Using it in a public place, that’s something that we do not want, and we’ll continue to look to that and do all that we can to make sure that those things that happen don’t happen.”
Roanoke police said this shooting was sparked by a verbal fight that became physical inside W.R. Brews. A man left and returned shortly after, and then the fight continued outside of the business, leading to the shooting.
In 2019, another shooting happened near W.R. Brews. That one was fatal.
W.R. Brews staff said on Friday that they have no comment following this latest incident that injured three.
“The owners of these establishments where alcohol is sold, we’ve got to make sure they understand the dangers that present and that they have taken the necessary steps to prevent that,” Lea said.
Lea said a new police chief is expected to be named in the next couple of weeks.