The area just a few blocks east of our 7news studio erupted into near chaos this evening as multiple units of the police department launched an aggressive mass operation in the area around George street at its intersection with Dean street.
As a result of a simultaneous shooting in the general area, one man is dead, and one girl was injured, while someone shot at a police substation, and six people were detained.
First to the fatal shooting: Police have confirmed that at around 5:20 this evening, Maurice Neal, 30, a welder, and Deneisha Cadle, a 10 year old were shot on the corner of West Canal and Berkeley Street, which is right across from Neal's work place.
Residents tell 7News that Neal was shot in the face, and police say that Cadle received pellet injuries to the right foot and hand.
Neal has since passed away while receiving treatment at the KHMH.
Minutes before that happened residents had urgently called us out to the corner of George and Dean streets where police had thrown a canister of CS gas - commonly known as pepper spray.
That caused an uproar in the area - and it is too early to say if it possibly provoked the murder which happened minutes after and two blocks away.
And while one team of police went to the murder scene, another was called out to the Mesopotamia police substation where someone had fired multiple times at the station building.
Police rushed to search the home of a well-known neighbor - after a special constable said the shooters had gone into her house. She was none too pleased with that, and shortly after the police left her house, she went to angrily confront them in the police station. That was quite a showdown - as her daughter had to come and get her out of the station - which caused a scene.
From there police closed secured the station house with maximum presence and also blanketed the area with searches and mobiles.
At news time, the area remains tense and police maintain a presence...
