Arson, extortion and shots fired: Oxford has busy week in crime
Oxford responded to a variety of incidents between April 7 and April 14, including shots fired at Parkview Arms and an arson report at a fraternity house.
The Oxford Police Department responded to shots fired, a literal fire, multiple technology related crimes and more during a busy week April 7-14.
Just before midnight on April 10, multiple officers responded to a call that multiple shots had been fired at Parkview Arms apartment complex. The caller stated that a man in a wheelchair had shot at another male in the parking lot six or seven times but didn’t know whether he was hit.
On arriving, an officer spoke to the man involved in the altercation, who said the suspect had shot at the ground, not at him. The officers located and searched the suspect, who stated that he did not own a firearm and “only owned an airsoft pistol,” according to an incident report. Officers could not locate a firearm after searching his apartment but did find six shell casings from a 9mm firearm on a sidewalk.
Officers had difficulty getting witnesses to agree to provide statements while investigating the incident, and no one wished to be put as a victim in the incident report. No charges had been filed as of April 15, but the incident was assigned to an OPD investigator.
Earlier on April 10, officers responded to a report of burglary and theft. Three roommates in a house on Willow Lane said someone had broken into their home overnight and stolen nearly $3,,000 worth of items from their living room, including electronics and a $2,000 guitar. OPD verified the report of muddy footprints in the living room but did not have any suspects.
On April 12, officers responded to a report of arson at the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity house. After arriving, the officer found a box with a gasoline tank inside on fire in the front yard, according to an incident report. A large rock in front of the property was also charred, and officers located a gas nozzle nearby, but OPD had no known suspects at the time of the report.
Throughout the week, OPD fielded multiple reports of cyber crimes including fraud and extortion. One woman said her Snapchat had been hacked, and nude photos and videos of her were on multiple websites, including some of her as a minor. The victim was in contact with the FBI.
In a separate incident, a man said he’d exchanged nude photos during a sexual conversation with a person he had met through TikTok. The account owner then demanded $500, threatening to share the nude photos with the man’s social media contacts if he didn’t pay. The responding officer advised the man to block all communication and said the situation was a common scam from people based outside the U.S.
A third person reported to OPD that someone had been posting false information about him online, including about his criminal past. The situation had continued for several years and led the man to move to Oxford for a “fresh start,” but the harassment continued, according to an incident report. No charges were filed, and the responding officer told the victim that the allegations were civil, not criminal.
Elsewhere throughout the week, OPD responded to one assault, one incident of trespassing, a vehicle theft in which the suspect totaled the vehicle, a domestic violence incident and three additional thefts.
