A man is shot in broad daylight at a Southside Springfield car wash. It happened around 10 a.m. Thursday at the Ye Olde Buggy car wash on South Fremont.

It appears the man was shot in the back during a robbery attempt. Witnesses say he was bleeding and screaming for his mother, while the shooter took off.

"It was just surreal, like it wasn't happening,” says Lacey Hanes. "We were just in shock."

"Immediately we called 911 and the schools,” says Hanes. "Several of us have kids in schools, and the scariest part is that he was on foot going to schools."

Police didn't know much when it happened, but they thought the shooter was likely not on foot or headed to any school.

"We have information that he fled in a brown car with no direction of travel,” said Lt. Kirk Manlove in an on-site press conference.

Investigators spent the morning collecting blood soaked clothes and witness statements at the crime scene. "We're canvassing businesses for any cameras and any eyewitnesses, that kind of thing,” says Manlove.

Investigators say the victim is in his 30s and from the Kansas City area, though the car he was driving has Oklahoma tags. He was able to tell police he thought he was being robbed.

"He was yelling that he wanted his mother,” remembers Hanes. She says she’s surprised it happened so close to her son’s pre-school, a part of town she considers safe. "It could be random,” says Hanes. “But it doesn't worry me that it will happen again."

Investigators say they believe the shooter is an African American man, but they don’t have a better description than that. If you have any information, call police.