CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – A fight at Tonsler Park over the weekend led to an elevated presence for Charlottesville City Police at Sunday’s Tonsler League basketball games. That put CPD in position to respond to an apparently unrelated shooting on Cherry Ave. on Sunday night.

CPD Chief Michael Kochis said his department had four officers on site at Tonsler on Sunday when the shooting occurred at the Exxon station at 701 Cherry Ave., two blocks away.

They quickly responded and found a male adult who had suffered two gunshot wounds.

“The officers heard it. Thankfully they were able to get there quickly, provide lifesaving aid and get him the help he needed,” Kochis said. “I am happy to report that he’s going to be OK.”

Players and spectators at Tonsler for the summer-league basketball games also heard the gunfire, and play was paused as organizers determined what was happening. CPD also had officers sweep the park looking for a suspect.

“We were starting our first game on Sunday. It was probably like five minutes into our first game,” Ahmad Hawkins, who emcees the Tonsler League games, told Cville Right Now.

Hawkins said he did not believe Sunday’s shooting was related to a pair of fights that had occurred the day before in the park. One he described as a minor altercation that he and league organizer Wes Bellamy were able to diffuse.

The second was a fight between young women, he said.

“That’s the thing. It’s an open park. When you get a lot of people to come to events like that, sometimes personal issues can get the best of folks,” Hawkins said. “That comes with it. We’re in an inner-city park. That’s a hub. Sometimes you have folks that don’t get along in the same space. We consider that like a safe haven. But sometimes cooler heads don’t prevail.”

Kochis said he had communicated with league organizers Sunday morning about having more officers in the park.

“We should be able to have an event in the park for the community and not have to worry about groups of kids fighting or shooting or threatening to shoot,” Kochis said. “I’m committed, the police department’s committed, and I know the city’s committed to making sure these events can happen and happen safely.”

Hawkins said the league and CPD have a good working relationship.

“For the most part, it’s safe out there. We have a police presence. We have a lot of support from local leaders,” Hawkins said.  “It’s appreciated from us. The police presence is appreciated. They don’t try to do too much. They allow people to enjoy the games. It’s not like people are walking on eggshells.”

Kochis said he is hopeful police will identify a suspect in Sunday’s shooting shortly. He indicated it’s possible that the police have video evidence.

“There is video everywhere over there,” Kochis said. “It’s something that kind of boggles my mind that somebody would still go down there and do this knowing that there’s video everywhere and people everywhere.”