MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) A man is behind bars and another recovering in the hospital after a drive-by shooting off of
Red Fox Road on the Mt. Vernon Choctaw Reservation.
Eyewitnesses told Local 15 there was a sizeable crowd gathered along the highway to watch four wheelers race when a red pickup truck pulled up. The man inside the truck, identified as 52-year-old Jeffrey Sullivan, allegedly opened fire with a pistol, striking 62-year-old Roland Byrd.
"Everyone started running after the gunshots, but I couldn't because I'm crippled," Robert Byrd, who was in the crowd but of no relation to the victim, told Local 15. "[Roland] yelled 'I'm hit, I'm hit.' He had two holes [by his chest.]"
Robert Byrd said Sullivan took off in the truck, drove up again soon after and stepped out with a high-powered rifle to "finish the job."
"We said the law's on the way," Byrd said. "[Sullivan] got back in the truck, drove off, and didn't come back."
Investigators said Byrd, who was flown to the hospital by helicopter, was able to identify Sullivan as the shooter. Deputies arrested Sullivan and his brother, Harold Sullivan, who was also allegedly in the pickup truck.
Detectives believe Sullivan shot Byrd because of a dispute over a girlfriend.
The victim's niece told Local 15 her uncle is "doing well" and expected to survive.
"He's going into surgery but they tell me he's going to be fine," Kimberly Evans said.
Investigators said Sullivan's brother also identified Jeffrey as the shooter.
