‘He told me to freeze,’ 911 caller says man charged with attempted murder shot at her six times

SPRINGFIELD — A man who police say shot multiple times at a woman walking down Charles Street Monday morning has been charged with attempted murder and other felonies

Officers responded to the house in the 700 block of Charles around 8:45 a.m. after receiving 911 calls reporting a man shooting a gun at a woman walking down the street.

One of those callers was the woman who said she was shot at.

“I need to report this guy just shot at me six times,” the woman said. “I was just walking down the (expletive) street.”

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The woman said she saw the gunfire hit the pavement and ricochet off her feet, but she was not injured.

“He told me to freeze,” the woman said.

Police arrested Charles Porter, 53, of Springfield. He was charged with attempted murder, felonious assault, a gun charge and obstructing official business.

“We’ve got families out here. There are kids are playing in their yards,” a Springfield police Sergeant told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell. “You can’t shoot at people that are walking down the street for no reason.”

Neighbors said they heard the gunfire this morning, waking them out of bed.

“We jumped up, looked out the back door, and gunshots are still going,” said Jessie Wellman. “At first I saw a whole bunch of cops.”

Wellman said Porter had grown tired of people passing through his yard, putting up no trespassing signs on his property.

“He just got tired of it. He broke down,” Wellman said. “I was talking to him yesterday. I tried calming him down.”

Springfield police are still working to determine what led to the shooting happening.

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