x
Breaking News
More () »

Harrisburg neighbors react to second officer-involved shooting in four weeks

HARRISBURG, Pa. — For the second time in less than four weeks, police say a suspect fired on officers in Harrisburg, in the same Allison Hill neighborhood...

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- For the second time in less than four weeks, police say a suspect fired on officers in Harrisburg, in the same Allison Hill neighborhood.

In late-December, the Dauphin County District Attorney's office reported a man was shot and killed by officers, after a shooting spree in which that suspect targeted Capitol Police.

Neighbors in the area of 18th and Mulberry Streets shared their thoughts on this latest shooting.

Different people have different reactions.

Some say it's just another day in the neighborhood, other's say besides the recent shooting, this is unusual.

Once woman saw the shooting unfold in front of her, and she says she's had enough.

Neighbor Diane Stinson said "roughly around 6 am, I heard three consecutive gunshots, pow, pow, pow."

The sound of gunfire sent Stinson to look outside her front door as she wondered what was going on.

"I see a police officer run across the street in front of my house, bend down and say 'officer shot, officer shot,'" Stinson said.

The shooting left one U.S. Marshal dead, and at least one other officer wounded.

"I see a gentleman running out of the alley way about three doors down, running west on Mulberry Street. Two officers came out in pursuit, shooting at him. I guess he was shooting back, because I heard rapid gunfire. You could actually see the sparks from the bullets," Stinson said

It was a scene that brought out officers from multiple law enforcement agencies to 18th and Mulberry Streets in Harrisburg.

"Next thing I know, the other officer said 'put down your gun. He ran by my car and started shooting, and he kept saying 'put the gun down, put the gun down.' I heard about 15, 20 more shots, then I heard him say 'assailant down.' That's all I heard," Stinson said.

That's more than enough for some neighbors.

The shooting comes after police shot and killed a suspect for allegedly firing upon officers at 17th and Mulberry Streets in December. It happened only a block away from thursday's shooting.

Neighbor Gerald Irvin said "you know it's been quiet for awhile, so this recent activity kind of makes you a little nervous."

"I have grandchildren and children. I fear for their lives when they walk in and out my front door now, because this is not the first shooting on this block," Stinson said.

Some hope it's the last.

"We don't want to see anybody get hurt. The officers are human beings too. They have families just like we do, so I don't want to see anybody get hurt. It's very unfortunate. They're just trying to do a job, just like everybody else," Irvin said.

"It's crazy, it's scary, my heart goes out to the officer and his family, but on the flip side of that, my heart goes out to the assailant, because I don't know what happened and why," Stinson said.

Irvin said he recently moved to Harrisburg from Chester in Delaware County, and hoped things would be quieter here.

Stinson said after living in the neighborhood for nine years, that she's ready to move.

"When I first moved into this neighborhood nine years ago, it was a very quiet, homeowner neighborhood. That's dramatically changed, and as that dramatically changed, so has the environment," Stinson said.

Before You Leave, Check This Out