( WFMZ )
Authorities were investigating an apparent murder-suicide in Reading — an incident that also left a baby with a gunshot wound on Monday.
"It's very sad and very tragic," said Berks County District Attorney John Adams."
Adams described the scene investigators found in the 1200 block of Locust Street in Reading.
"They went into the premises and discovered two individuals who were deceased," he said. "Unfortunately, they also discovered a young child that had been shot."
Adams said at around 2:15 p.m. Monday, police responded to a 911 call from a neighbor reporting gunshots. Upon police arrival, when no one answered the door, authorities called the Berks County Emergency Response Team to the scene.
"I'm looking out the window, and I see we have the cops blocked off both ends of the street," said neighbor Kaitlyn Wawrzyniak. "I see, like, the SWAT team come. I see all the guns pointed out the house."
The DA said the incident seemed to be domestic.
"It was a boyfriend, girlfriend, and was a murder-suicide situation," Adams said
The infant found inside was airlifted to the hospital to undergo treatment.
"The guy who was holding the baby, I saw him absolutely book it towards the other side of the block," Wawrzyniak said. "You could tell it was a newborn, but, like, I didn't hear the baby make any noise."
"Whenever a vulnerable young child suffers a gunshot wound, it really...it hurts," Adams said.
Adams said it is believed at this point in the investigation that the child's mother and father were those involved in the suspected murder-suicide.
"That child is vulnerable and can only be protected by the two people who are involved in this incident," Adams said.
As of now, "We do not, at this point, know who was the shooter or who was the victim," he said.
Adams said this was the second domestic violence case in the city to turn deadly in the past few weeks.
"Sometimes, despite all our efforts, some of this domestic violence is inevitable," he said.
The DA credits organizations like Safe Berks for the job they do to protect victims. However, he says there's still one major problem.
"There's too many guns, too many guns on the street," Adams said. "Too often, people end up in disputes, they use violence. They use a firearm."
The DA said there was no one else home at the time of the incident.
As of Monday night, there was no word on the infant's condition.
The names of the man and woman involved have not been made public.
Comments