Local

Intruder shot by Washington business owner, District Attorney says

WASHINGTON, Pa. — The lights are off, and the door is locked inside the Pet Boutique after Washington District Attorney Jason Walsh told Channel 11 News that the owner shot an intruder on Thursday morning.

On Thursday afternoon, we spoke with two men who captured the arrest on their cell phones. They captured the frightening moments when police ventured onto an unstable roof to approach the suspect.

In the video, an officer realized the suspect was shot. That officer runs to the edge of the roof to call for additional help. Then he quickly begins rendering aid to the suspect.

Bill Ball filmed the ordeal from a nearby business.

“I walked by the window and saw a gentleman climbing out and I said to my co-worker this guy must be high or drunk to be coming out laying on this roof,” Ball said.

But the man wasn’t high or drunk. He’d been shot. When police arrived, he was lying on the roof… two floors below was the store owner who shot him.

According to District Attorney Walsh, the owner of the Pet Boutique heard a noise just before 9:30 a.m., he then found the man inside his building and shot him.

We were the only TV station there as crews rushed the man to the hospital, his condition is still unknown but people in the area are shaken up

“It is disturbing it’s so close to home,” Ball said.

While Alex Smith who also witnessed the dangerous arrest agreed, “It’s usually very quiet down here so that was not something that we were expecting at all.”

A nearby business owner told Channel 11 News this may have not been the first time the store was broken into.

“The guy that shot him came walking down and told me, ‘Yep, guy was breaking in while I was there.’ I guess they broke in before and they got away. But he was like, ‘I was in the room this time and I shot him.’ I couldn’t believe he shot him,” said Lee Zielinski, the owner of Magic City Barbershop.

The owner of the Pet Boutique had no comment, and Charleroi police are investigating. Once their report is filed, the district attorney will decide if charges will be filed.

“Don’t break in, and you won’t get shot,” Zielinski said.

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