Town of Beloit police still searching for man apparently shot during vehicle theft
TOWN OF BELOT—Police are still trying to locate a man who was apparently shot by a resident while he was fleeing an attempted vehicle theft in the town of Beloit last week.
Town of Beloit Police Chief Steve Kopp told The Gazette this evening that police believe they know the identity of the man who resident Jacob Davenport says he shot at with a .40-caliber handgun outside his home on Shore Drive, but investigators have not been able to locate the man.
The man was trying to steal from Davenport's vehicle which was parked outside his home. Davenport said he went outside with a gun and shot several times at the man while the man was fleeing in a vehicle driven by a woman.
Kopp said police were still investigating the shooting and he was not prepared to release the name of the man.
But he said police had contact this weekend with an acquaintance of the man, and it seems clear that he was wounded during the incident.
Kopp said the acquaintance gave police a piece of clothing the acquaintance said belonged to the man. He said the clothing was “pretty saturated in blood.”
Police are trying to negotiate with acquaintances of the man to get him to step forward, Kopp said.
Kopp said police are more interested in locating the man as a victim and witness to the shooting than as a theft suspect. He said police also want to get medical help for the man if he has in fact been shot.
Kopp said it’s not clear how badly the man may be injured, but he said police could release his identity in a day or two if he doesn’t surface.
Meanwhile, Davenport remains in custody in Rock County Jail pending an initial appearance on a criminal count of recklessly endangering safety. Kopp said police have “no reason” to doubt Davenport’s story about the attempted theft and his decision to shoot a gun indiscriminately at a fleeing vehicle.
