In the end, the original shooters were the victims transported to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
It all happened around midnight on East Forrest. That’s where police say a car with two young men drove by a home and opened fire.
Callers to 911 reported hearing as many as seven to eight shots fired.
One person at the residence told News 2 there were approximately ten people in the yard and on the porch at the time. When the gunfire erupted, many of those people took cover.
That’s when police say the car drove away. Calls begin flooding 911.
Caller: A car just went by and shot at this little house right here and they are still shooting.
According to Lebanon Police, bullets hit the family’s red pickup truck in the driveway. Family members tell News 2 other bullets hit the house.
That’s when investigators say family members jumped in their red pickup truck and gave chase.
At some point a few blocks away, police say the truck and the car collide with the car’s backend being smashed in. Investigators tell News 2 that someone from the family got out of the pickup and opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun.
The car that fled the scene was hit at least twice. Police say both occupants of the car were shot and both were transported to a local hospital by a private vehicle.
“It was kind of a hairy situation for folks in that neighborhood. It didn’t cover a wide range, it was contained within 3 blocks and was over quick,” said Sargeant PJ Hardy with Lebanon Police.
A resident made this call to 911:
Caller: “And I heard gunshots right up from my house. It was seven or eight, at least.”
Within minutes, Lebanon police were on the scene, collecting shell casings and talking to the family members who remained at the scene.
“It is a possibility that everyone involved will be charged for their weapons,” said Sgt. Hardy.
Hardy said the homeowners should have called for police instead of chasing the drive-by shooters and opening fire.
“We would never recommend that. But if you are on your property, and they come onto your property and they are firing shots at you, you definitely have a right to defend yourself and return fire. But once that car continued down the street, and left that immediate, imminent danger situation, that is where it should have ended, that is where they should have called 911 and let us respond and get out there,” said Sgt. Hardy.
Police tell News 2 they are unclear what precipitated the shootings. Neither of the shooting suspects reportedly suffered life-threatening wounds.
Police have made no arrests so far and the motive for the shooting is still being investigated.