ALIQUIPPA, Pa. — You can still see bullet holes in the screen door of a home in Linmar Terrace after a shooting around 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Four people were shot and taken to the hospital. Three of them, investigators say, were innocent bystanders.
“They were just having a party, celebrating the Fourth of July, America’s 250,” Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible said.
That’s when investigators say a stranger ran inside.
“I think he just thought, hey, maybe I can blend in with this group and just kind of get away,” Bible said. “He said something to the effect of, ‘they’re going to shoot me’ or ‘you got to hide me’ or something. Then the shooter shot through the screen door.”
That man, Bible said, was the intended target of the shooting. He’s in his 20s.
But three innocent bystanders in their 40s and 50s inside the home were also shot. All four were taken to the hospital and are expected to be okay.
Bible said right now, investigators don’t know much about the shooter or the man police say was the intended target. He’s not from Aliquippa or Beaver County.
“Not sure exactly why, at this point, he was in Aliquippa,” Bible said. “We’ve heard a few different stories, none of which are good. He was there doing something illegal, selling something, buying something, not sure exactly what yet, apparently, that transaction went sour.”
State police are looking for the shooter and two or three other people.
Aliquippa Police said they’re frustrated with the recent spike in violent crime.
In late May, there were shots fired that hit two cars on Main Street, and an Amazon delivery driver said he feared for his life when his vehicle was hit three times by bullets last month.
“To curb that, we’re increasing patrols, and the community will see more police activity in an attempt to decrease the violent activity that’s going on,” Aliquippa Police Sgt. David Mosura said.
They started those increased patrols last month, but they need more help from the community.
“We like to believe that the good will come out in people, and we believe there’s a lot of good in the community here and that they can help us with a lot of these issues,” Mosura said.
Aliquippa Police Chief John Lane issued a statement on the recent violent crime.
“In response to the recent increase in shootings, our department is increasing officer presence throughout the city with additional patrols in areas where violent crimes has occurred. Our goals to deter further violence, reassure our residence, and respond quickly to any criminal activities. We are committed to holding those responsible accountable while working with our law-enforcement partners and the community to address this violence, we encourage anyone with information related to this incident to come forward public safety remains our highest priority, and we will continue to use every available resource to protect our neighborhoods. The bottom line is everyone needs accountability when officers arrive on scene we get Little to no cooperation from everyone that is in that area. When we try knocking and talks, we get door slammed in our faces crude comments. The sad thing is everyone sees what happens and no one gives any information and then turns around and it points the finger at the police. It’s hard to clean up the city that has zero cooperation with law-enforcement.”
Investigators are asking anyone with information on the shooting at Linmar Terrace on Sunday to report it.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW