JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – A fatal shooting in downtown Johnson City Friday morning has left community members concerned about a crime spike in the area.
Lawrence Adams, a Johnson City resident, gets his hair cut at Crown Cutz Barber Shop, just down the block from the shooting at 110 Tipton St. Adams has been living in the area for about 40 years.
“Anytime you read or hear about a shooting or a death, people killed, murdered, it’s a concern for everybody,” Adams said. “Should be a concern for the community, should be a concern for the officials in the community.”
“I feel bad for the guy’s family, and his friends and all that stuff that are personally affected by that lost cause,” master barber at Crown Cutz, Chris Woods, said.
Adams said he’s seen a lot of changes in his community over the decades, but not all of them have been good. Adams said he feels differently about walking alone at night now.
“I used to walk the track at Freedom Hall at night years ago or early in the morning, 5 o’clock in the morning before I went to work,” Adams said. “I wouldn’t do that now.”
Adams said he’s hoping for a change in downtown Johnson City. He said he used to see a larger police presence downtown.
“I’m not downing the police in Johnson City,” Adams said. “I just feel in my heart we need to patrol downtown more.”
At this time the victim of Friday’s morning shooting has not been identified.
“Everytime you read about a shooting, it bothers you,” Adams said. “It could be your neighborhood, it could be your neighbor.”
