According to the police, several unrelated shootings occurred in Allentown, Pennsylvania, over the weekend, which tragically led to a 1-year-old boy and a woman losing their lives. Additionally, six individuals sustained injuries as well. Data provided by the Gun Violence Archive, a website keeping track of nationwide gun-related incidents, reveals that in 2023 alone there have been 295 fatalities of children aged 11 or younger due to shootings.
Captain Daniel Gross of the Allentown Police Department stated that three distinct shootings occurred from Friday night to early Saturday morning. The first event started at roughly 8:42 p.m. on Friday in the northeast part of town, where law enforcement officers answered reports of gunshots. Once there, they found three individuals who had been shot – a one-year-old boy and two adults. Unfortunately, both the child and a 44-year-old woman did not survive their injuries despite being taken to nearby medical facilities while a 66-year-old man was still in critical condition as provided by Captain Gross’s disclosure regarding these incidents.
The woman who died in the initial shooting has been identified as the grandmother of the toddler by Lehigh County Coroner Dan A. Buglio, even though their names have yet to be disclosed.
While the police were conducting their investigation of a triple shooting, another occurrence took place at approximately 9 p.m. on Friday merely a few blocks away. A man and woman had sustained gunshot injuries while lying on the street, resulting in serious hospitalization conditions for them both. Demitrius Bashir Campbell was promptly detained by law enforcement officials as a suspect; however, an additional individual involved remains unidentified and currently evades arrest.
Campbell is being charged with attempted homicide, conspiracy to commit murder, two charges of aggravated assault, endangering others recklessly and carrying a firearm without possessing the required license.
At 2:25 a.m. on Saturday, three additional individuals were shot in northeast Allentown. One victim was discovered at the location while two others affiliated with the same occurrence arrived at a hospital afterwards. Thankfully, all three persons are anticipated to recover without incident and no apprehensions have been executed concerning this incidence of shooting early last Saturday morning.
Despite the close proximity of all three shooting incidents, Captain Gross clarified that at present, there is no substantial proof connecting them. The probe is still in progress and no arrests were made nor a clear motive was established.
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Josh Siegel, a State Representative, conveyed his sympathy and support to the impacted families while denouncing the mindless brutality. He urged for an immediate halt to further loss of lives in society.
