Wichita police suspect firework exploding by Old Town customers tied to other incidents

Police think that three reports of fireworks being thrown toward people and vehicles Tuesday night, including one caught on video at Pumphouse, were connected.

The first call came at around 10:20 p.m. A 19-year-old woman reported sitting in a parked vehicle, with the window down, at a business in the 1600 block of East Lincoln when an “unknown suspect in a white car threw a mortar-style firework towards her,” Officer Charley Davidson said Wednesday. It exploded next to her window, causing minor injuries to her and damage to her vehicle.

The call at Pumphouse came at around 10:45 p.m., Davidson said.

Video from the Pumphouse Facebook page shows a timestamp of 10:20 p.m. The business is located near Second and Washington. The video shows a couple of groups of people sitting at two tables when a white car pulls up along Second and the “passenger tossed a lit firework onto the patio,” the Facebook post says.

The mortar-style firework “exploded under” one of the tables, Davidson said.

Pumphouse manager Daron Adelgren said that one of the customers had a minor burn on her leg and a hole burned in her shorts.

He was inside the bar when he heard that fireworks had exploded on the patio, and he went to check the surveillance video. The Pumphouse has a long history of catching illegal acts on its security cameras.

“This could have been potentially very serious, and it was serious enough as it was,” Adelgren said.

In the morning light, he found burn marks on the patio from the mortar shell.

Adelgren said it’s not the first time fireworks have been lit off outside his bar, but usually it’s just a Black Cat that startles people.

He’s trying to get his business back on its feet, he said, and something like this hurts.

“My biggest fear is that this is going to cause people to think it’s one more thing in the long list of reasons to not come eat and drink at The Pumphouse,” he said. “Our tables are all spaced out, and the patio is very attractive to people these days. For this to happen is not good. We don’t need this right now.”

Davidson said no injuries were reported to police.

Around the time of the report at Pumphouse, police were called about a white vehicle being used to throw fireworks at people walking and vehicles in the 600 block of North Seneca, near McLean. Davidson said multiple people in the area reported the fireworks being thrown.

No injuries or damage were reported.

Police are looking for a newer, white Dodge Avenger with dark tint and damage on the rear driver’s side bumper. Police believe multiple people were in the vehicle.

Anyone with tips can call detectives at 316-268-4407, the Crime Stoppers hotline at 316-267-2111 or the See Something, Say Something hotline at 316-519-2282. Hotline tipsters can remain anonymous.

Contributing: Denise Neil of the Wichita Eagle

This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 9:19 AM.