SPRINGFIELD, Missouri (KY3) – A homicide investigation is underway after an armed man shot and killed a man on Saturday morning in downtown Springfield.
The Springfield Police Department identified Robert Moffett, a 32-year-old Springfield man, as the victim. The closest relatives were notified.
Police said that shortly after midnight on Saturday, a man suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his chest near West Walnut Street and South Patton Avenue. He was treated for fatal injuries in a hospital, but later died of his injuries.
The officers responded to a downtown parking lot near the Flame Steakhouse at about 12:12 pm. Police said there were no witnesses when the shots were fired.
No suspects have been identified at this time. The details of the investigation remain limited. We will update as more information becomes available.
Local companies said the police were present from the moment they closed the store until they started work on Saturday.
“They were there all night because when we woke up and started work, we passed by and saw that the police were working at the crime scene,” said businessman Sean Matar.
Matar said he was not too concerned after the shooting. He said he did not want isolated incidents to scare people away from the area.
“This kind of thing happening a block away is not going to make us pack and move,” he said. “There is nothing to fear, or any reason for not coming to the center.”
He said he thinks the police do a good job of patrolling the area, especially on weekends.
A bar manager, who declined to show his face on camera, said he had seen a lot of violence near that parking lot before.
“It’s frustrating to have to hear things and see things that shouldn’t be happening that never happened in Springfield in all the years I lived here,” said a downtown bar manager named Mark.
KY3 checked the number of calls to the police and found that there had been 12 reported violent incidents within a quarter mile of the parking lot near Walnut and Patton just since the beginning of the year.
“It’s making a lot of people afraid to come downtown,” said Mark. “It is perpetuating the message that the city center is a violent area at night, which affects many businesses. And the fact that normal people come to have fun for fear of violence after midnight. “
Mark said the issue needs to be addressed by the city, whether that means more lights or more of the police presence in that specific location.
If you have any information about the shooting, contact the Springfield Police Department at 417-864-1810 or Crime Stoppers at 417-869-TIPS (8477).
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