Victims and witnesses talk with police about Ramada shooting

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids police have interviewed a 13-year-old boy hospitalized with injuries after an Oct. 1 shooting at a birthday party at a southwest Cedar Rapids hotel.

Police Chief Wayne Jerman held a news conference Oct. 4 to say no one was talking with police about a shooting that wounded six people. Police now report they’ve talked with the teenage boy and several other victims and witnesses to the shooting at the Ramada by Wyndham hotel.

“All victim and eyewitness accounts are helpful in piecing together the facts and circumstances of any incident as we investigate,” Capt. Craig Furnish said in a response to The Gazette this week.

“Police are also reviewing all available surveillance video as part of the ongoing investigation,” he said.

Police were called about 10:30 p.m. Oct. 1 to a report of shots fired at the hotel at 525 33rd Ave. SW.

They found three people who had been injured — one of them seriously — and the victims were taken to hospitals. Another three people, including the 13-year-old boy, also were wounded and taken to the hospital by personal vehicles.

Police said this week federal health care privacy laws prevented them from providing any updates on the medical condition of the victims.

The shooting broke out during a birthday party in a hotel conference room, authorities said. Police were unsure if there was one assailant or more. The shooter could face charges of going armed with intent and attempted murder, Jerman said Oct. 4.

The shooting is similar to other gun violence in Cedar Rapids that began with a disagreement and “individuals choose to settle their differences with firearms,” Jerman said. “It’s senseless and cannot continue.”

Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com