“We were all trapped in”; residents speak out after downtown Roanoke shooting standoff
ROANOKE, Va. – Virginia State Police released the name of the man involved in a standoff and shooting with officers in downtown Roanoke late Thursday night into Friday morning. Damoan Townes is in custody facing several charges.
Residents describing what happened to WDBJ7 explained they felt trapped between the gun shots of the shooter in the house across the street and police in front of their apartment building across the street. Simone Steward explained they didn’t have any other option but to just wait it out.
“I think that’s what scared me the most is you’re trapped in there,” Steward said. “You have no where to go.”
Steward heard the first gunshot hit her apartment around 10:45 p.m.
“I just heard the glass shatter and I heard the pop, which sounded like a gun shot,” Steward said. “I was worried about my dog so I crawled to the back and we went back out in the back bedroom and stayed there and we kept hearing shots.”
One bullet went through William Spencer’s living room while he was cooking.
“They messed up my tacos and it was my first time trying them,” Spencer said. “Fifteen minutes later, I get a gunshot going through my house and I’m ducking for cover.”
Roanoke City Police arrived on the scene around 11 p.m. and started evacuating residents. Police arrested 31-year old Damoan Townes at 3:30 a.m. Townes is now charged with two counts of firing a gun inside a building with malicious intent.
Both Steward and Spencer explained this is the first time something has happened in the neighborhood.
“I’ve been living here since the beginning of the year, been here since then and I’ve enjoyed it because it’s a pretty nice place until something like this happens,” Spencer said.
“It’s never been like this,” Steward said. “I don’t know what happened. It’s just not safe to me if you have bullets up in your window.”
The City of Roanoke Police Department placed the officers involved on administrative leave. No one was injured during the standoff with police.
“It was crazy, just all the gunshots. We were all trapped in,” Steward said. “It was the feeling of being trapped and you don’t feel safe because you got multiple gunshots.”
Virginia state police are now investigating what happened on Elm Avenue because Roanoke police were involved in the shooting.
