Updated: In 3rd Lexington shooting Sunday, man stands in busy intersection, fires gun
A man stood in a busy Lexington intersection and fired a gun in one of three shootings Sunday, police said.
Police were called to the intersection of Tates Creek Road and Old Mt. Tabor Road at 4:11 p.m. Sunday, initially responding to a report that a car had hit a retaining wall at Centenary United Methodist Church, Lexington Police Lt. Daniel Truex said. Witnesses told investigators that the man driving the vehicle that crashed got out with a handgun and ran inside a nearby Speedway gas station before running out into the middle of the intersection and firing multiple shots, Truex said.
No one was injured and it was initially unclear what the man was aiming at when he fired shots in the intersection, Truex said. No shots were fired inside the Speedway.
Police were able to quickly arrest the man without incident and talked to him Sunday night to learn more about what happened and why he fired the shots, police said. Robert Solomon, 47, was booked into the Lexington-Fayette County Detention Center, according to court records. The arrest citation said he shot a vehicle, causing damage of more than $500.
Solomon was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time, according to the arrest citation. He was charged with four counts of wanton endangerment, one count of criminal mischief, being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, being a persistent felony offender and being a persistent felony offender in possession of a firearm, according to court records.
The shooting on Tates Creek was the third shooting reported in Lexington Sunday, according to police. Early Sunday morning, around 2 a.m., police responded to Payne Street near the Lexington Cemetery and found three people shot. One of the victims died at the scene and two others were taken to a local hospital, Truex said. One of the people transported had life-threatening injuries, and the other had injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, he said.
Later Sunday, a shooting was reported on Augusta Drive. It appears that something went wrong during a narcotics transaction and shots were fired, Truex said. A person from that shooting later showed up at a Lexington hospital with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, he said.
There is no confirmed connection between any of the three shooting incidents Sunday, but investigators are still looking into the possibility, Truex said.
Police ask anyone with information related to the shootings Sunday to call 859-258-3600.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted by using a free P3 Tips App available at www.p3tips.com. Information can also be sent anonymously through Bluegrass Crime Stoppers at (859) 253-2020 or www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com.
This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 6:38 PM.
