District attorney Gil Martin, left, watches while Vicksburg Police investigator Virgil Woodall, second from left, photographs evidence at the scene of a shooting at Clay and First North streets Sunday night. At right, investigator Tom Wilson, with notebook, speaks with Warren County Deputy Sheriff George McBride.(C.Todd Sherman The Vicksburg Post)

[8/4/03]A shootout at a busy Clay Street intersection Sunday night left two Vicksburg men injured and another in police custody.

Roommates Clayton Trammell, 24, and David Hartzfield, 20, both of 95 Givens Road, were injured after blasts of gunfire erupted at about 10 p.m. at First North and Clay.

And after turning himself in to police near midnight, Derrick Paige, 20, 1320 Second North St., was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault. He was in the Warren County Jail this morning with bond set at $20,000.

Police investigator Capt. Mark Culbertson said the men argued earlier. He said two guns were found at the scene and two types of shell casings, indicating an exchange of gunfire. Police were continuing to look for witnesses, he said.

Culbertson said Trammell was shot in the lower back and Hartzfield was shot in each arm and the left leg. Trammell was in fair condition and Hartzfield was in stable condition at River Region Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said.

Police were called to the scene after Warren County Deputy Sheriff George McBride was driving along Clay Street and heard gunfire at First North. McBride pulled into a business parking lot and interrupted the gunfire.

“His immediate intervention into the situation, in all likelihood, saved lives,” Sheriff Martin Pace said.

Clay Street, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, was blocked for nearly two hours between First and Second North streets as police attempted to reconstruct events.

“I’m shocked it happened on this end of town,” said Tanya Kenney, 31, who drove up on the scene. “Something like this happened on this street is amazing because it could have hit anybody.”