Man shot near Old Town following street scuffle

A 41-year-old man was critically injured in a shooting in downtown Wichita on Thursday afternoon.

The shooting was reported shortly before 3:30 p.m. in the 300 block of North Topeka, a Sedgwick County emergency dispatch supervisor said. That’s just west of Old Town Square.

The shooting occurred about 3:20 p.m. and was witnessed by homeless people who gather regularly in the area just north of Second and Topeka.

“I went to go have a cigarette and there was an altercation between kids," said one person who saw the shooting, Jessica Nelson. “The guy who got shot said, ‘Here, hold my stuff’ while he was trying to take up for a girl. And then he kneeled down and there was a gun got pulled and he got shot three times. Two in the leg and one in the arm."

The identity of the shooting victim was not immediately available, but witnesses said he goes by the nickname “Chicago.” He is known among homeless people who use the services of United Methodist Open Door, about a half-block south of where the shooting occurred.

Yourxvan McGough said he was in a parking lot nearby and saw the shooting suspect get in a car, circle through a parking lot and then flee to the northeast.

Police spokesman Charley Davidson said the shooter was still at large. The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Man shot near Old Town following street scuffle."