Gunshots broke the early morning calm of downtown Charlottesville on Sunday in two separate incidents that occurred only three blocks apart.
A Volkswagen with two occupants stopped at the light at the intersection of Ninth Street Southwest and Cherry Avenue around 4 a.m. Sunday when a mid-sized gold-colored car pulled alongside it and shot into the passenger side, Charlottesville Police Sgt. Richard Hudson said.
No one was injured in the shooting, and police recovered two bullets from the passenger area.
About an hour later, an unoccupied Mercury van parked in the 700 block of Prospect Avenue outside the Blue Ridge Commons apartments was shot 14 times with 9 millimeter ammunition, police said. There were no injuries, and no witnesses have come forward.
Charlottesville Police Sgt. Don Campbell, who is investigating the incidents, said the police have a list of suspects, but no arrests have been made.
Police believe the shootings were precipitated by a large disturbance earlier in the evening at the Kaleidoscope nightclub outside Charlottesville on Route 250 West.
Albemarle County Police responded to the incident at the club and asked for backup from the Charlottesville and University police departments.
Police managed to diffuse that altercation, but tempers continued to intensify into the early hours of the morning - tempers police say eventually flared into gunshots.
No one from the Kaleidoscope was available for comment.
The events and participants surrounding the Kaleidoscope incident and the two shootings "had a history" that led police to their list of suspects, Campbell said.
Although he did not comment on specific physical evidence, the proximity of the two incidents in "time and geographic location would probably indicate a connection," Hudson said.
Campbell said someone might shoot an unoccupied, parked van 14 times "to send a message."
Sunday's shootings also are not the only recent incidents at these Charlottesville locations.
Bernard Williams was shot multiple times by a single gunman at the GoCo gas station at the corner of Ninth Street and Cherry Avenue on Sept. 10 of last year.
On Aug. 30, 2000, Benjamin Willis was shot while talking with several people in front of the Blue Ridge Commons apartments on Prospect Avenue, police said.
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