A man was shot multiple times in his lower body Wednesday afternoon near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Middle Street.

The victim transported himself to Southeast Hospital after the shooting.

Cape Girardeau Police responded to the call at 12:45 p.m.

Multiple shots -- bullet holes in an exterior wall at 432 Middle St. suggest upwards of four shots -- were fired diagonally across Jefferson Avenue.

Police were collecting evidence on the southwestern corner of the Middle Street and Jefferson Avenue intersection in the 500 block of South Middle Street.

Police were looking for a black Chrysler 200, potentially occupied by two males who were believed to have been involved in the incident and were believed to have been armed, Cape Girardeau Police Department public information officer Adam Glueck said.

Glueck did not have any more information on the vehicle or detailed descriptions of the persons of interest.

Two neighbors counted nine shots fired.

A neighbor across the street, who wished not to be named, saw a white vehicle leave the scene.

"I'm just so tired of the shooting," Raven Lee, who lives in the 500 block of South Middle Street, said. "It's not safe for my children to come out and play. It's happening more and more frequently now. They're shooting during the daytime. They just don't care anymore."

Glueck would not say how many shooters were suspected, how many shots were suspected to have been fired or what type of gun was used.

Glueck said police interviewed the victim at the hospital and talked to witnesses around the scene who heard the shots and might have seen the shooter or shooters escape.

Glueck said police believe the victim is local but declined to release any more information about him.

There was no blood on the scene near 432 Middle St., but police would not say whether the victim was on foot or in a vehicle. So far, Glueck said police believe there was just one victim.

"(With) multiple shots fired in the middle of the day, we are concerned about innocent bystanders getting struck, especially in a residential neighborhood," Glueck said.

Lee pointed out the shooting occurred near the bus stop where her children walked home from school just three hours later.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

432 Middle St., Cape Girardeau, Mo

505 S. Middle St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.