MOLINE, Illinois -- An arrest has been made - and more are likely pending - in connection with a series of shootings in the same block over the nights of Dec. 11 and 12, police say.
Police arrested Garrett Hilburn, 19, after an investigation into shots-fired incidents on 19th Avenue and of 15th Street. A, that happened two nights in a row this week.
The first shots-fired incident happened the night of Dec. 11, where three unoccupied vehicles and one home were damaged by gunfire. The following evening, police were again dispatched on a shots-fired call to find the same house from the previous night had been struck by gunfire again.
“When I heard the gun shots (Tuesday) night, I just ran and picked up my daughter and went to the floor. I didn’t know if they were still out shooting,” says neighbor Alexis Britt, who moved to the area over the summer.
"I didn’t expect me to live so close to something so violence, especially raising a kid here. It makes me think twice," says Britt.
Police say the shooter targeted a home at 1914 15th St. A, where Hilburn lived with two others and a small child.
Police searched to property and found narcotics and a stolen gun.
"The people in that house are not telling us the whole truth. They undoubtedly know who is targeting them, they undoubtedly know the reasons they are being targeted,” says Detective Michael Griffin, from the Moline Police Department.
He suspects the shooter is from the Chicagoland area.
"There's an allegation of money being stolen, drugs being stolen and that group is now coming out for retaliation," says Griffin.
Hilburn was arrested and charged with manufacturing and delivery of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a stolen firearm and no valid FOID. His bond is set to $100,000.
Anyone with information regarding either incident is asked to call the Moline Police Department at 309-524-2140 or Crime Stoppers of the Quad Cities at 309-762-9500.
