Police investigate shooting, hit-and-run in western Sioux Falls

Shelly Conlon, Sioux Falls Argus Leader
·2 min read

A man is behind bars Sunday afternoon, following a shooting and a hit-and-run in western Sioux Falls early that morning, according to a press release from the Sioux Falls Police Department.

Officers responded at 4:30 a.m. to the area of 5300 W. 44th Street for a report of gunshots. When they arrived, they found several people on scene, including a person who had been struck by a vehicle. Department spokesman Sam Clemens said Monday that the situation started with a gathering at a house in the area.

"We're not really sure what led up to this or how they ended up there, but there was some type of disagreement from the people that were there," Clemens said. "Somebody pulled out a gun and started shooting."

Officers did find a bullethole in a neighborhing house, but no one was injured from that, he said. As shots were fired, a couple people on a Dodge Durango tried to drive away. That's when someone in a GMC Yukon also trying to drive away left the roadway and hit a man nearby, Clemens said. The Yukon then drove forward and crashed into the Durango, he said.

The driver of the Yukon got out and started walking away from the scene, and officers found him a few blocks away, Clemens said.

Sioux Falls crime lab officials and a tow truck respond to the scene of a shootingand hit-and-run Sunday morning in the 5300 block of W. 44th Street.
Sioux Falls crime lab officials and a tow truck respond to the scene of a shootingand hit-and-run Sunday morning in the 5300 block of W. 44th Street.

The man, Morris Smith Jr., was charged with aggravated assault and felony hit-and-run, a press release from the department states. Clemens said officers also found meth on him when he was booked into the Minnehaha County Jail, so he is also charged with having possession of a controlled substance.

The investigation is ongoing, and no one was injured by gunfire, the release states. The condition of the victim struck by the vehicle is unclear. He was taken to a nearby hospital for his injuries, Clemens said.

No weapons were found at the scene either.

"We're not sure at this point who fired the gun," Clemens said. "There's still a lot to do yet on this case."

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Police investigate shooting, hit-and-run in western Sioux Falls