‘Pop, pop, pop’: Look West man recalls shooting incident
JANESVILLE — Frank Taormino was with his family watching “The Biggest Loser” when he heard gunshots.
“Pop, pop, pop,” he said. “I ran out there right away and saw a few vehicles taking off.”
Two bullets pierced Taormino’s house. They could have hit his fiancée and his 8-year-old child in the head, but they didn’t go through the wall.
“Everyone was pretty shook up,” he said.
In all, five bullets pierced two houses and a parked vehicle at 9:39 p.m. Thursday in the 1100 and 1200 blocks of Ravine Street.
Police have made no arrests, Lt. Tim Hiers said, and the shooting remains under investigation.
Taormino, 28, of 1120 Ravine St., said the Look West Neighborhood is safe, but he has been noticing drug-related behavior recently.
He said he has heard about a possible drug deal on the street. He has seen people shuffling in and out of certain homes. He believes the shooting was a drug deal gone bad.
Police also speculate the incident was drug-related. An officer stopped a vehicle a few blocks away from the shooting and arrested a person for marijuana possession.
Investigators found two bullet holes in Taormino’s house, two more in a vacant house and another in a parked vehicle, according to police.
The houses and car were not the targets.
Two groups of people were standing around when shots were fired. Police recovered bullet fragments.
After the shooting, Taormino moved his fiancée and five children into the basement for cover. Their house was covered in crime tape. They later discussed the possibility of moving.
But people in the neighborhood are like family, Taormino said. Everyone talks, he said, and they checked on one another after the shooting.
“I don’t expect that kind of stuff to happen in my neighborhood,” Taormino said.
related STORIES
- Film tells story of ...
By GAZETTE STAFF 02/08/12
Mar 29, 2009 at 9:40 p.m.
Suggest removal
No Drive bys, and no drugs? Koo' I'z moving to where yo' neighborhood iz since you live in a perfect HOOD and gonna raise my Churens. There any sex offenders, or achoholics... Oh and yes I got a very good job, and nice house, just finished paying for it two years ago so really not planing on moving...LMAO!!! but anyways to bad I have lived in the Suburbs of Metairie, Louisiana all of my childhood life and there wuz more people selling drugs undercover, (cops was doing it too.) than any of the big CITIES I lived in as a young adult. So don't even go there with me with no drugs or sex offenders or acholics and/or drives bys, or better yet, break-ins SO nowhere is perfect unless yo' living on CLOUD 9 and there is nowhere on earth like that, just OPEN yo' lil' eyez and pay attention and you will see things in a different light and yo' AZZ ain't NO better then any of us living in the LOOK WEST neighbor or the 4th ward... And last but not least I can also be a GHETTO smart a** and I am enjoying the fact that you are SOOOOOOOOO wise and LMAO... Now that you read this go ahead and delete me cuz I kno you wanna...
Mar 26, 2009 at 12:54 p.m.
Suggest removal
it is scary and i think as a parent the thought that your child could of been hit and you could not of stopped some random bullet from killing them is really scary. we had a family friend who was sleeping and he was hit in the head from a stray bullet in the middle of the night, it missed all the important areas and he is okay now but very scary
Mar 26, 2009 at 12:39 p.m.
Suggest removal
After the shooting, Taormino moved his fiancée and five children into the basement for cover. Their house was covered in crime tape. They later discussed the possibility of moving.
The drugs would just follow you.
Mar 24, 2009 at 4:32 p.m.
Suggest removal
i guess some of these people know frankie pretty well. some of their comments are hilarious.
Mar 24, 2009 at 4:13 p.m.
Mar 23, 2009 at 9:05 p.m.
Suggest removal
Gee slave - I don't worry about drive by shootings in my neighborhood... There's plenty of safer places to live than the 4th ward! Unfortunately not plenty of them are always affordable.
Mar 22, 2009 at 10:37 a.m.
Suggest removal
stores are selling out of guns and ammo. aiming or not, hitting a target or not, drive bys or something else, it will all get worse before it gets better. we are an armed city and country on the verge of political and economic collapse. i wish the city council and school board would use common sense in spending our money while considering the chaos that looms before us.
Mar 21, 2009 at 11:37 p.m.
Suggest removal
After the shooting, Taormino moved his fiancée and five children into the basement for cover. Their house was covered in crime tape. They later discussed the possibility of moving.
Ok, now Where are you going to move your family? Because where ever it is there is always going to be problems with drugs, alcohol, or people sticking their nose where it DOESN'T belong... If you find that area Please e-mail me so I can move my whole family too.
Mar 21, 2009 at 10:50 p.m.
Suggest removal
I'm not a parent but I'd feel better knowing that the shooting wasn't something random that happened, there was a reason for it, and there were actual targets (even though they were missed.) I think that's where the father is coming from, knowing that there was a reason for the shootings, not just some random drive-by in some random neighborhood.
Mar 21, 2009 at 2:15 p.m.
Mar 21, 2009 at 11:54 a.m.
Suggest removal
At least I made sure my famliy was safe. besides the police said the same thing I said.
Mar 21, 2009 at 10:16 a.m.
Suggest removal
wat kind of father with five kids in the house would say IT WAS JUST A DRUG DEAL GONE BAD
Mar 21, 2009 at 9:40 a.m.
Suggest removal
Is there a public shooting range in Janesville? I know it is off-subject, but I was just wondering.
Mar 21, 2009 at 9:30 a.m.
Suggest removal
SCARY. And the fact that the punks can't hit their targets is how innocent people get killed. Not that they should out being shooting anyone. Thank God no one was injured or killed.
Mar 21, 2009 at 9:13 a.m.
Suggest removal
what is the point of a drive-by or any type of shooting when you can't aim???? think its about time the gang leaders and drug dealers make their minions goto the range!!! a drive-by is senseless anyways, if you have the balls to pull the trigger then be a man and walk up to the person..just a bunch of stupid kids
Mar 21, 2009 at 3:45 a.m.
Suggest removal
I live in the same neighborhood and have even noticed the kids haven't been outside as much as the young adults shuffling around from here and there.
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.