Heroin Crimes on the rise in Grand Forks as Police Investigate Shooting

Authorities say three men fled the scene shortly after 2 a.m. in a dark–colored four–door car.

Police were still working on last week’s fatal shooting when this shooting erupted in a quiet residential area just before dawn.

It’s raising a lot of questions from neighbors about their safety.

Ben and his family just moved in here 18 months ago.

This morning – he awoke to a text from his wife saying, we’re moving.

“She sent me a message, I read it. Looked online for breaking news, saw there was a shooting, said aw, great…”

The shooting scene is practically in Ben’s backyard.

Neighbors on either side of the block say they were shocked to wake up to blocked–off roads and investigators still working the scene.

“Very surprised. We can hear the fireworks. We hear the trains going past. But last night we heard nothing,” said neighbor Ted Hoberg.

Neighbors here say they moved in to a quiet apartment complex several years ago. But this year, they say, police have been at this building at least once a week.

“I’m kind of shocked to hear you say something is going on here,”

Police won’t speak to motive here – but do say heroin crime in general is on the rise throughout the city.

And as Ben recalls a recent drug bust a few blocks off – he’s not surprised other neighbors are thinking of moving too.

“Cause there’s a lot of families with kids. That’s why we moved here. But with drugs and shootings going on, a bullet could come over here. You just never know.”

Grand Forks police say heroin is behind much of the city’s recent violent crime.

However, they’re not yet ready to attribute heroin as a motive in this shooting, or the earlier fatal truck stop shooting that’s also under investigation.

They’re also working to determine whether gangs are implicated in any of the recent heroin influx.

UPDATE: Grand Forks police say the 30-year-old victim in the shooting, David Manuel Gomez, was treated for non-life-threatening wounds. They don’t expect to release any names of persons of interest in the case until at least Wednesday.