GADSDEN, ALABAMA -- A man was shot Thursday afternoon as he and his family were moving
out of the house they had been evicted from in Walnut Park. Buddy Joe Blackmon, 34, was shot in the shoulder during an argument with a neighbor, Gadsden police Sgt. Dale Fincher said.
Police received a call about 1:45 p.m. of a person with a gun at 421 Lincoln St. The first police officer to arrive found Blackmon lying in the street in front of a parked car. The officer quickly radioed that someone was shot and summoned help from medics.
As more police officers arrived, a next-door neighbor was quickly handcuffed and taken into custody. He was sitting on the sidewalk in front of his house as medics treated Blackmon.
Blackmon was taken to Riverview Regional Medical Center and flown by
helicopter about an hour later to UAB Hospital in Birmingham. He was listed
in critical condition Thursday night in the hospital's intensive care unit.
Blackmon lived in the house with his wife and adoptive mother, Fincher said.
A station wagon with mattresses on top was loaded with clothing and household items and parked in front of the house where Blackmon apparently
had been living.
Spattered blood was on the front of the station wagon, but Blackmon
was on the pavement behind the station wagon, in front of another car.
After talking to witnesses, police determined that Blackmon and the neighbor apparently had words before the shooting and had had words in the past, Fincher said.
Blackmon allegedly pulled a knife on the neighbor, who then fired the
shot that struck Blackmon.
The neighbor is not expected to be charged.
A second ambulance was called when Blackmon's wife had some type of medical problem. She also was taken to the hospital.
The neighborhood is relatively quiet, said Etowah Rescue Squad Capt. Jim Armstrong, who lives on a nearby street.
"We have seen some violence over the years, but we hardly have any problems," he said. "It's usually a quiet neighborhood."
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