Frederick police are looking for the culprit in a shooting early Friday that sent a man to a trauma unit with serious injuries.

Officers responded to the 100 block of West South Street at about 3 a.m. for a report of shots fired, finding a 43-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds, Lt. Shawn Martyak said.

The man, who has not been publicly identified, was treated at the scene before being taken by ambulance to Frederick Municipal Airport and then flown by Maryland State Police helicopter to R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Martyak said the man underwent emergency surgery, but a report on his condition was not available.

Martyak said the investigation is still in its early stages, but it appears the victim and the shooter knew each other.

Police Chief Kim Dine said investigators are pursuing leads.

Mike Corrigan, who lives less than a block from where the shooting took place, estimated he heard six gunshots that jarred him awake. After police arrived, he and a neighbor went outside and saw the man being placed in an ambulance.

"It woke me up from a dead sleep, which is hard to do," Corrigan said. "They were big shots, too. It sounded like a high-caliber gun, because it wasn't just like pop, pop, pop."

Corrigan said the shooting hasn't led him to fear for his safety. He said he has lived at his current address for six years, walking the streets at all hours without incident.

"I don't feel affected in that way," Corrigan said. "Maybe later, when I think about (it), but I'm not afraid in this area. I never have been."

But other residents -- including Kay Davis, who said she has lived in her home for more than 50 years -- say they find the violence and drug activity in the area worrisome.

Davis said she would like to see more police patrols come through at night, when most of the suspicious activity occurs.

"It would make anyone feel unsafe, because all this activity is going on and the police aren't around when they should be," Davis said.

The area of West South Street has seen its share of shootings in the past year, including two unsolved shooting deaths.

On March 6, 2010, Stuart Garrison Brennan, 25, was shot and killed, and his body found near the Beacon House in the 400 block of West South Street. On Oct. 3, William Joseph Goines Jr., 31, was shot and killed just south of the area in the 200 block of Madison Street.

On June 10, a person was shot and wounded at the Westerleigh Apartments in the 400 block of West South Street, and on Nov. 3, 32-year-old Tieray Jones was shot in the leg in the 300 block.

Dine said the area, which he said also includes All Saints Street, is a major concern for his department. He said proactive police efforts have led to a number of guns being seized recently.

"We've not only stepped up patrols, but we've also been engaging in some covert as well as some more overt operations," Dine said. "It is troubling that we've seen so many guns in that area."

Copyright 2011 The Frederick News-Post. All rights reserved.

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