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LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Gunfire erupted in four separate areas of Lancaster City in the span of about an hour late Wednesday night, and the onslaught of bullets wounded four men — one of whom might not survive, police said.
All the shootings happened in just 67 minutes, between 10:17 and 11:24 p.m, forcing the city department to call in Pennsylvania State Police to help.
“It’s very unusual, extremely unusual — I’m even struggling to think of a past occurrence when we’ve had so many shootings in such a short span of time,” said city police Chief Sam Gatchell, who has been with the department for 25 years.
The state police helped at the scene of the two later shootings.
“Our resources were starting to be stretched thin,” Gatchell said. “I’m not sure how many police departments can handle so many incidents in such a short period of time.”
As of late this morning, there was no evidence any of the shootings were related. However, the police chief stressed that in each case the victim was acquainted with the shooters.
“They do not appear to be random acts,” Gatchell said.
No suspects had been taken into custody, and two of the victims were not cooperating with police investigations. Police did not release names of the victims or any of the suspects.
The last shooting was the most serious in terms of injury.
Police were sent to 5161-w E. Chestnut St., where officers found a man with a gunshot wound to the upper body, a Lancaster police press release said.
The man reportedly was shot in the back of the head, and the wound is considered life-threatening, Gatchell said.
An ambulance took the man to Lancaster General Hospital.
Gatchell said there is more than one suspect in that shooting.
The 10:17 p.m shooting happened at 652 E. King St., near North Franklin Street. Upon arrival, police found a 29-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the leg. The man was taken to LGH, and his injuries are not considered to be life threatening.
Gatchell said witnesses to the East King Street shooting were cooperating, and that this shooting was definitely considered unrelated to the three later shootings.
At 10:23 p.m. police got word that a person had been shot in the 100 block of East Clay Street. Upon arrival , officers found a 28-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the leg.
He also was treated and released from LGH; his wound was not life- threatening. Witnesses there were not cooperating with police as of this morning.
A report of a fight and gunshots sent officers to the intersection of West Strawberry and West Vine streets on Cabbage Hill at 11:07 p.m.
A 21-year-old man indicated he had been grazed by a bullet during a confrontation with an unidentified man, police said. Gatchell said the man did not seek medical treatment.
Witnesses to that shooting also were not cooperating with police today.
Trouble continued to brew in the Strawberry Street-Vine Street area throughout the night. Shortly after 5 a.m. today, seven police cars lined the 200 block of West Vine, between Water Street and West Strawberry Street. There had been shouting, cursing and a woman reported that a man pointed a gun at her from a vehicle, police said.
Police still had the 500 block of East Chestnut Street, between North Ann and North Marshall streets, cordoned off at 5 a.m. today. Flares were set up and yellow tape was stretched around the shooting scene and across Chestnut Street.
[size=24][/size]THE FIRST SHOOTING THAT NIGHT WAS A BAIL BONDSMAN. HERES ANOTHER ARTICLE EXPLAINING.
Suspects sought in shootings of 4 men
One victim shot in leg by bail bondsman
By Brett Hambright
Intelligencer Journal
Published: Dec 01, 2006 2:45 AM EST
LANCASTER, Pa. - Four men were shot Wednesday night at four locations in Lancaster city, including one man who was wounded by a bail bondsman trying to apprehend him.
All four victims remained hospitalized Thursday, one of them in “very critical” condition, police said.
Police identified only one of the victims, Moises Torres Jr., 29, of 652 E. King St., who was shot about 10:17 p.m. when he tried to escape a trio of bail bondsmen, police said.
Six minutes later, a 28-year-old man was shot in the leg in the 100 block of East Clay Street.
Forty-five minutes later, a 21-year-old man was grazed by a bullet in the second block of West Strawberry Street. Police said the victims’ injuries weren’t life threatening.
The fourth victim was critically injured when he was shot in the head at 11:24 p.m. at 516½ E. Chestnut St. He was found in the backyard of a house, investigators said.
Lancaster police Chief Sam Gatchell said officers have had “previous contact” with the victim, but he would not elaborate.
Gatchell said police suspect two of the shootings may be related, but he would not say which ones. As of Thursday, no arrests had been made, and police were trying to establish motives.
Gatchell said Torres was wanted on nine bench warrants issued for various offenses, including felony drug charges, criminal trespassing, vehicle theft and making terroristic threats.
When the bondsmen went to his home, Torres initially cooperated with them.
“It started out nonconfrontational,” Gatchell said, but Torres then “became briefly involved in pushing one of (them) and fled the residence.”
As he tried to escape, one of the bondsmen fired at Torres, who was struck in the leg.
Gatchell said Torres was receiving “significant treatment” at Lancaster General Hospital, but his injuries are not life threatening.
Bail bondsmen post money to get suspects released from jail. If a defendant fails to show up for a court hearing, a bondsman may seek to apprehend him.
Lancaster County District Attorney Donald Totaro said Thursday night he had not reviewed all reports from the incident to determine if the bondsman who shot Torres acted within the law.
“We are currently researching the legal authority of a bail bondsman, particularly as it relates to these circumstances,” Totaro said.
In each of the three other shootings, the victims and shooters knew each other, Gatchell said.
“They were acquainted with each other, either currently or in the past,” he said.
Investigators are trying to locate “persons of interest” who may have information about the shooters, Gatchell said. Two of the victims have been “less than cooperative,” he said. “They are not really willing to talk to us.”
Because of the multiple investigations Wednesday night, Gatchell said, state troopers were called in to assist city police.
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