2 shot in Middletown in less than a week: What we know about the incidents

Two people have been hit by gunfire is less than a week in Middletown incidents.

In the latest, a man received a minor injury Monday night in Middletown during an argument that turned violent, police said. That followed a drive-by shooting that injured a woman last week.

Police were called about 7:15 p.m. Monday to the 1800 block of Glenwood Avenue for a report of about 20 gunshots. Officers found Jordan Vandergriff shot in the leg, according to police.

Vandergriff and Blake Freeman were sitting in a vehicle when they got into a verbal fight with Jose Lopez, police said. After the argument, Lopez, Vandergriff, and Freeman began exchanging gunfire. Vandergriff was struck in the leg with non-life-threatening injuries. All three men were arrested.

Middletown Police Chief David Birk said the incident apparently began when one of the men went out to the mailbox and words were exchanged. All three returned to residences and police took them into custody.

Lopez, 20 of Glenwood Ave, is charged with felonious assault, Vandergriff is charged with aggravated menacing and Freeman, 18, of Cincinnati, is charged with discharging a firearm within the city limits.

The incident came six days after a woman was shot in the chest during a drive-by shooting in the 400 block of Curtis Street. Middletown police have no suspects, and no arrests have been made.

Detective Ryan Morgan said the woman who was shot remembers little about the incident, and others inside the home on Jan. 12 told police they don’t know why the shots were fired and they didn’t see a shooter.

“This will be a little difficult to solve,” Morgan said today. “We will work it as far as we can.”

Morgan said one shot was fired into the home, went through a window and struck the woman.

“Really unlucky,” he said of the victim, whom the Journal-News isn’t identifying.

She’s listed in stable condition at a local hospital, he said. Middletown 911 dispatchers received calls after the shooting.

One caller told the dispatcher: “She just got shot.”

A few second later, the caller said: “Please hurry.”

The caller said the shots may have been fired from a brown minivan that was seen traveling down Curtis toward Yankee Road, according to the 911 recordings reviewed by the Journal-News.

Another caller said “a bunch of little kids” were responsible for the shooting.

When asked about the young age of those in the vehicle, Morgan said there’s no proof to “suggest that’s accurate.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Morgan at 513-425-7735.

About the Authors