SOUTH BEND — A rash of shootings in South Bend early Sunday left at least five people injured, fatally wounding one of them.

The homicide happened at 3:45 a.m. in the downtown area near the South Bend Tribune building.

Capt. Phil Trent said South Bend officers were called after the shooting occurred near Main and LaSalle, and found the victim, identified as 21-year-old Bradley Walls, in a car more than a block away.

"The occupant in the vehicle was fatally shot," Trent told SBT24/7 News.

Sgt. Dave Beaty of the South Bend Police said he was driving east on Lincoln Way West, near the Taco Bell at Lafayette Street, when another car crossed the centerline, nearly hitting him head-on.

Beaty saw the car, a metallic gray Chevrolet, hit a utility pole on the southwest corner of the intersection.

But he quickly discovered the driver had gunshot wounds.

"We know there was a shooting down the street," Beaty said, pointing away from where the car rested against the pole and east down Lincoln Way.

Farther down the street, in front of the 1st Source Bank property, a black semiautomatic handgun — believed to be the weapon in this shooting — lay near the center yellow lines.

There were at least three slug holes in the left rear door of the vehicle, in addition to the shots that hit the driver.

Beaty said it was too early in the investigation to tell if those holes were related to this shooting.

A passenger who was in the car was not injured but was not cooperating with investigators, he said.

As a stiff wind whipped at crime scene tape stretched across blocks, the St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit continued collecting evidence.

But this shooting had followed several others across the city, too.

Beaty said he had just come from another crime scene at the Taco Bell near Bendix Drive and Lincoln Way West. That shooting was reported at 2:11 a.m., city dispatchers said.

A male juvenile was shot in the midst of a large fight, the officer said, but he is expected to recover from his injuries.

And just a few minutes later, police were sent to a shooting at the Marathon gas station at 21st Street and Mishawaka Avenue.

After that shooting, at least two victims walked into area hospitals for treatment.

South Bend 911 dispatch confirmed that one person was being treated for injuries at Memorial Hospital, while another was being seen at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center.

There was no immediate word on their injuries.

But it wasn't long before another shooting happened.

South Bend dispatchers confirmed yet another gunshot wound victim about 5:45 a.m. near the intersection of College Street and Elwood Avenue.

The person was expected to recover from his injuries.

With so many shootings in such a short time, police are looking for any possible links. And not just in South Bend.

At one point during the night, LaPorte County officers asked for help from St. Joseph County as they pursued a man through a cemetery near U.S. 20 at the county line.

LaPorte County dispatch said officers were watching U.S. 20 for a white SUV used in the west side South Bend shooting, but determined the man they chased was not wanted in connection with that case.

That leaves police to follow up on other leads.

"We're not sure exactly what's connected right now," Beaty said.

Downtown streets in the area of the shooting — north of Colfax, east of William Street and west of Michigan — remained closed to traffic early Sunday.

Police expected it to be several hours before the roads reopen.