A Chicago man was in serious condition following a shooting Wednesday afternoon at an east Ames apartment complex.

Luther Hobbs, age unknown, was shot three times by Rhashad Jones, 18, in the parking lot of Eastwood Apartments, 420 E. Seventh St., said Sharion Hayes, 31, a witness to the incident.

Jones, 1522 Hawthorn Court, was in custody last night at the Ames city jail, said Hayes, who lives in apartment C-8 of the complex.

Ames Police reported the shooting at 12:47 p.m.

They were on the scene investigating a burglary at Hayes’ apartment when Hobbs jumped out of the bushes and over the fence on the south side of the parking lot, Hayes said.

Hayes had arrived earlier with Jones, her boyfriend, from his residence in Hawthorn Court to inspect the damage to the apartment.

Jones was riding out of the lot in a car driven by an unidentified friend when he saw Hobbs, got out of the car and ran to confront him, Hayes said.

“I heard people saying, ‘There goes Luther, there goes Luther,'” she said. “Everything was slow, but I turned around, and they were standing real close.”

Hobbs said a few words to Jones and “made a move” as though he was going to attack him. Jones pulled a pistol and fired four shots, Hayes said.

Two bullets hit Hobbs in the face and one lodged in his buttocks. “He just dropped down and folded up,” Hayes said.

Hobbs was taken to Mary Greeley Medical Center and was in serious condition late last night, said Casey Mahon, spokesperson for the hospital.

Hayes said she had returned to the Eastwood complex with Jones after hearing her apartment had been burglarized.

Hayes called police and asked for officers to escort her to her apartment because she suspected Hobbs, her ex-boyfriend, of committing the crime.

She said he called Tuesday morning to tell her that he would be arriving from Chicago.

During the conversation, she said, Hobbs threatened to kill her and her new boyfriend, Jones.

When Hayes, Jones and Ames Police arrived at Hayes’ residence, they found the door kicked in, shelves smashed and the television set tipped over.

Hayes said she and the officers had gone back outside and were standing in the parking lot when the shooting occurred.

Hayes said Hobbs was “mean” to her during the four years they were together, and he was angry that she had begun a relationship with Jones only one month ago.

“It’s over a woman, and that makes me feel big,” she said.

Jones is not an Iowa State student, but Hayes said he was staying with his cousin, who is an Iowa State student, at the Hawthorn Court residence.

She did not remember the cousin’s name.