Iowa woman injured in one of several drive-by paintball attacks

DAVENPORT, Iowa (WQAD) -- A group of men attacked several people in Davenport's East Village Friday night, shooting paintballs at them out of a moving vehicle, several witnesses told News 8, which Davenport police later confirmed.

One witness was present at the location on the patio with friends, said someone shot around 20 paintballs at them.

"It was about 11:56 p.m. We were approached by a car full of young boys, out of nowhere shooting paintball out of a calibrated gun," said one witness.

The men say the vehicle appeared to be dark blue box-shaped, like a SUV. It came down 11th Street and turned onto Jersey Ridge Road, the car slowing down as it passed in front of Brew.

"It was drive-by paintballing," he said. "One guy was hit in the leg, I was hit in the back."

Shelby Reichard, who was walking near Middle and Jersey Ridge Roads heading to the East Village at that same hour with her boyfriend, was also hit.

She told News 8 by phone that she was just walking and having a conversation when a paintball hit her in the face. "They yelled something, I heard a pop, and it hit me," she said.

She dropped to the floor in pain, bleeding from her right eye. At Genesis East, she took a selfie of the blood and paint running down her face. After several hours, she said she was transported to Iowa City by ambulance to get further treatment.

In a press release Monday morning, Davenport police say that the vehicle in question was a dark SUV occupied by four or five men, and that they are also investigating events around the city with similar descriptions.