Woman shot following fight in parking lot of Belleville Dairy Queen

A female, who was not identified by police, was struck by gunfire after a large fight broke out in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen in Belleville Wednesday.

Belleville Police Capt. Mark Heffernan said officers were dispatched to the Dairy Queen at 1776 Lebanon Ave. at 10:43 p.m. to investigate a large disturbance. No one was left by the time officers arrived, but “broken glass, what appeared to be blood droplets, and evidence of gun shots were fired on the parking lot” were left behind, Heffernan said.

A short time later, police were notified that a female was at Memorial Hospital East with a gunshot wound. She had been taken there in a private vehicle, Heffernan said.

“The injuries sustained by the victim were not life threatening in nature. The victim was treated and released,” he said.

Detectives with the Belleville Police Department responded to multiple locations to conduct an investigation which is still ongoing, Heffernan said.

“Preliminary investigation has shown the Dairy Queen location was used as a meet-up location for a fight,” said Heffernan. “Word regarding the fight spread on social media and a crowd gathered to watch the fight.

“Gunfire was observed as individuals who participated in the fight were leaving the parking lot.”

The business was closed at the time and no employees or patrons of the business were injured.

Heffernan said detectives are conducting interviews and are continuing to follow leads, but are not getting a lot of cooperation.

“There has been a resistance on the part of some involved individuals to cooperate with detectives, but the investigation continues despite the obstacles,” Heffernan said.

Anyone with any information regarding this incident is urged to call Belleville police at 618 234-1212 or Crimestoppers at 1-866 371-TIPS. This is an anonymous Tip line that pays up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.

This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 2:02 PM.