Charleston detectives continue to search for a gunman who shot and wounded a teenager at a West Side crime hotspot Wednesday morning. Some Kanawha County residents report they have been scared off the streets by murder, shootings and drug deals.

Neighbors heard a string of gunfire as a 16-year-old male was shot and wounded in Charleston’s West Side at a frequent trouble spot near Glenwood and Central avenues.

“I heard like ten shots and I ducked,” resident Richard Meeks recalled. “I heard two more and saw a local, young kid that was limping around the corner over here. I ran down and put a tourniquet on his leg because I didn’t want him to bleed out.”

Detectives report the victim is expected to recover from gunshot wounds in his leg and stomach.

Neighbors at nearby Jarrett Terrace feel that gun violence has become so commonplace, it sometimes goes unnoticed. It’s serious enough to keep many residents inside the apartment building.

“We don’t even pay attention to it anymore when we’re in our apartments because it’s so common,” resident Pam Harper told Eyewitness News. “That’s sad that we’re elderly and disabled and we can’t come out and sit on our benches without worrying about somebody shooting.”

Lt. Tony Hazelett, with the Charleston Police Department said officers were in the area at the time of the shooting and responded quickly.

“We’ve had a couple shootings here, obviously, we had the KJ Taylor [shooting] here,” Hazelett said. “We’ve provided extra patrols in this area. This shooting here happened very early in the morning.”

Taylor was a senior at Capital High School who was fatally shot in April 2021.

Neighbors feel that vacant houses in the area are adding to the crime problem.

Police have a partial description of the shooter and are actively working the case. So far, no arrest has been made.