14-year-old’s shooting leads to evidence that may be linked to Williamsport firearms store burglary
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In the late afternoon of Nov. 3, Williamsport police were dispatched to the emergency department at UPMC Williamsport to investigate a report of a teenager who suffered a gunshot wound to the foot, according to court records that became public Monday. The documents indicate that evidence detectives gathered from this investigation may very well be tied to the burglary at the National Range and Armory, 531 Washington Blvd., which took place the same day several hours earlier.
The injured 14-year-old and a juvenile friend were brought to the hospital by a rideshare driver, police added. "The boy's foot was wrapped in a blue hospital pad, and blood was coming from the gauze," according to an affidavit that was part of a search warrant.
The teen told police he was at a relative's home and "when he entered a room to obtain a plastic bag, he heard two loud bangs and realized he had been shot in the toe. He stated he did not know who shot him," court documents stated. The teen didn't know the relative's address, but it was on Memorial Avenue near Memorial Park, he said. Through their investigation, agents soon determined that the teen was shot inside 1672 Memorial Ave., and a warrant to search the house was filed at the office of District Judge William Solomon and executed that very night, police added.
"A bullet strike was uncovered through a mattress (in a bedroom) that went into the floor, and there was blood near the bullet strike," the affidavit stated. Investigators recovered a pair of black jogging pants, two "black puffy coats" and a pair of sneakers. Police said there was blood on the pants as well as the sneakers. One of the coats "had a tear on it as well as glass fragments in it," the affidavit stated.
"These clothing items are consistent with the clothes worn by two suspects seen on video" during the break-in which took place at the National Range and Armory about 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 3, police said. "The coat with the tear and glass in it matches the description of the suspect" who entered the business and stole firearms, the affidavit stated.
Seven handguns were stolen in the burglary, police said.
When officers arrived at the gunshop, a witness told them that they "heard glass breaking and saw several juveniles in the area," one of them climbing through a window that had been "smashed with rocks," court records stated. As investigators "processed the scene, blood droplets were located around the broken window as well as one of handguns in a display case. Glass fragments were scattered throughout the business and a window frame," the affidavit stated.
While police were at the Memorial Avenue home, a woman told an officer that her son, who lives in the house, "had been treated recently at a local urgent care facility for a laceration to his hand, and that was the reason for the blood in the bedroom and on the clothing," the affidavit stated.
Capt. Josh Bell said Tuesday that the investigation into the burglary was ongoing, and that no arrests have been made. He declined to answer any questions regarding the search warrant documents.