Update from shooting with eyewitness views

Shortly after 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 28 the school resource officer at Wahl-Coates Elementary School filed a report to the Greenville Police Department (GPD) indicating that there were shots fired outside the school.

The disturbance occurred on the sidewalk of 5th Street in approximately the 2200 block, just on the west side of Wahl-Coates. GPD Chief Ted Sauls spoke with the media about the incident around 9:30 a.m. 

“The victim in this incident, I can confirm, is an employee of ECU. In what capacity, I do not know, not a student but an employee who encountered the suspect on the sidewalk,” Sauls said. “The suspect was on a bicycle, the victim was on foot. The suspect for whatever unprovoked reason which will be determined later fired on the victim multiple times, at least five times we believe. The victim appears to have all non-life threatening injuries and we are praying for a full recovery.”

ECU Chancellor Philip Rogers sent an email out regarding the shooting, addressed to the campus community. The email gave the facts about the incident and Rogers said he was thankful for the responding officers and Fire & Rescue staff. 

"Campus safety is a top priority for our institution and surrounding areas, which is why we proactively deploy effective planning and preparation strategies to minimize the possibility of such senseless events occurring," Rogers wrote. "We recognize that these events, whether near our campus or on other university campuses, are troubling and undoubtedly invoke fear and concern. Please know that support is available." 

The victim has been identified as 27-year -old ECU research scientist Andrew Readyoff who is suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The suspect, 38 year old Savell Hightower then proceeded westward on 5th Street towards East Carolina University where he was met by policemen just before the corner of Elm and 5th Street.

The officer exited his vehicle to try to detain the suspect and was immediately met with gunfire with which the officer and two additional responding officers returned fire. The officers and suspect were uninjured while the suspect was taken into police custody charged with multiple counts of Attempted Murder, Assault with a Deadly Weapon Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury, Assault with a Deadly Weapon Intent to Kill on a LEO Officer, Possession of a Firearm by Felon and Possession of a Stolen Firearm according to a statement from the GPD.

The area where the incident took place is home to many ECU students who were woken up early for their classes by the sound of sirens and gunfire. Junior finance major Colby Lewis got up just as many of his peers did. 

“I was in bed and the next thing I know I hear about 10 handgun shots and then I look out the window and see a bike on the ground. Cops were coming by probably like 30 seconds before the shooting started,” Lewis said.

Even though the police encounter took place in front of many student and family homes, Sauls said the public acted calmly and sheltered in place until the scene was deemed safe.

Eyewitness and future Student Body President Anderson Ward explained that he saw about six or seven police cars arrive on the scene as the suspect was immediately put down. 

“The cops had a really good response time. They were on the scene very fast. By the time I walked outside and realized what had happened, everybody had already covered all their bases,” Ward said. “It's not something you see every morning but I commend the police’s response time.”

The area on 5th Street between Elm and Oak Street will likely be shut down for three to four hours following the incident to allow law enforcement time to conduct an investigation into the dynamics and motivations of the disturbance, Sauls said.

Sauls said that there was no ongoing threat to the public.

“Thank you to the students, this area has a lot of students and residents. They did exactly what we needed people to do, they sheltered in place until the incident was over,” Sauls said. “I want to assure the community that violence of this caliber will not be tolerated.”

 Staff Report

A shooting occurred two streets down from East Carolina University's campus, by 5th Street and Elm street around 8:30 a.m. according to a Greenville Police Department X post.

An ECU Alert was sent out at 8:53 a.m., and contained vague information. The alert said there was no immediate threat to campus but to stay away from 5th Street and Elm Street due to “Greenville Police activity.” The alert also said 5th Street would be blocked off for an uncertain amount of time.

At 9:03 a.m., a X post by the Greenville Police Department said the department responded to a shooting around 8:30 a.m. One person was shot and transported. The suspect is in custody. The post said again, the street would be closed due to an ongoing investigation.