Story Published:
Jul 5, 2009 at 3:57 PM EST
Story Updated:
Jul 5, 2009 at 6:58 PM EST
Springfield Police are investigating the city's tenth murder of the year.
23-year-old Noah Borders Jr. died after suffering gunshot wounds to the head in the parking lot of the Royal Seasons Banquet Hall at 339 Boston Road.
The gunshots rang out while the sound of fireworks resonated in neighborhoods early Sunday morning, following the July fourth celebrations.
Andrew Santiago saw the commotion after he left his job on Boston Road.
"I just heard shots go off, I didn't know if it was firecrackers or not. By the time I got down here, there was like eleven cruisers. I saw bullet holes in the windshield and they said some Hispanic guy got shot," said Santiago.
Springfield police say just after 2 a.m they were called to the parking lot of the Royal Seasons Banquet Hall.
An argument broke out after the bar had closed. Shots where fired, and a 23-year old Noah Borders Jr from Springfield was hit.
Police say the suspects fired several times with a 9-millimeter handgun. Borders Jr. was struck in the head and was rushed to Baystate medical where his injuries proved to be fatal.
The victim was standing in front of a car when he was shot.
The bullet holes can be seen in the windshield and continue through the passengers seat and into the child safety seat in the back.
Witnesses say a passenger in the car was sitting in the seat minutes before the shooting, but decided to go back in the club to see what was taking her friend so long.
When she returned she saw how close she came to being caught in the crossfire.
As the Springfield body count rises to double digits, some city residents say the violence and lack of respect for human life is out of control.
"Just a little while ago there was a shooting down there at the barber shop, there was a shooting down there at the 418, the Mardi Gras, I work at a place where someone got shot in the neck with a BB gun and someone stole their tips, and now we got this. The city is going crazy, we need help, something needs to happen", said Alex Forney.
As of Sunday night, police do not have any suspects in custody, however they are following several leads.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Springfield P.D.
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Sunday, Jul 5 at 8:28 PM RJOHNSON wrote ...
has anyone stopped to consider the fact that our crime rate was dropping from 1994-1998. In 1998 our state passed the "toughest gun laws on the books". All this did was take firearms from mainly law abiding citizens. In the time since, the same crime rates have risen by 100's and even 1000's of percent. Just a thought. An armed society is a polite society.