Witherspoon, whose whereabouts were unknown as of Monday afternoon, had warrants out for his arrest for aggravated murder, murder, attempted aggravated murder and three counts of felonious assault.
The shooting of four people at the Speedway on South Burnett Road was one of several shooting incidents that occurred in the city over the weekend.
Credit: Springfield Police Division
Credit: Springfield Police Division
Springfield police responded just before 1:30 p.m. Saturday to the Speedway in the 400 block of South Burnett Road. They found that multiple people had been shot at the scene, including Crooks, who was laying near a gas pump.
Crooks had suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at 1:57 p.m., that same afternoon at Springfield Regional Medical Center, according to an incident report filed by the Springfield Police Division.
In addition to Crooks, a woman and two children also were struck by gunfire. Police identified the woman as Tiffany Brugler, 41, of Springfield. She was in critical condition and was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center and then to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.
Brugler was found by police laying inside the store and had been shot in the arm and head, according to the incident report.
Moos said that Brugler was in a past relationship with the suspect Witherspoon and was believed to be in a current relationship with Crooks.
In addition to Crooks and Brugler, a 6-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl also were shot at the Speedway.
The boy is to be related to Crooks’ and the girl was a bystander, Moos said.
The boy was sitting in a car and was shot once. He was taken to Dayton Children’s Hospital with serious injuries. Moos said that the child victim had not been released as of Monday afternoon.
The girl was grazed by a bullet and suffered an injury around the hip area. She was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center and has since been released, Moos said.
Moos did not disclose on Monday what lead to the shooting but stated that they believe Witherspoon drove to the Speedway where he shot his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend.
He said that the incident is still under investigation and investigators are still in the process of gathering information and piecing together what happened.
“I do not have any of the background information. That’s something that is going to take us some time to piece together,” Moos added.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
He said that he did not have any information at the time regarding if there has been a history of domestic violence involving Witherspoon and Brugler.
“This a pretty big investigation and there are a lot of moving parts. I am sure that will come out through further investigation,” Moos said.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Springfield police are also investigating a few other shooting incidents that occurred over the weekend.
One involves a 38-year-old man who was transported to Miami Valley Hospital from the Springfield Regional Medical Center on Friday after suffering multiple gunshot wounds.
Police are also investigating an incident that occurred Sunday morning in which a woman who was delivering an order for Door Dash suffered gunshot wounds to the legs in the 1500 block of Clifton Avenue.
Moos said that he has not been involved in the investigation of those two cases and could not provide additional information at this time.
Moos said if anyone has information regarding the Saturday shooting at Speedway, or the whereabouts of Witherspoon, they are urged to call Springfield Police at 937-324-7685 or local law enforcement agency.
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