Police: Shooting followed dispute in Walmart checkout lines
WYNCOTE, PA. » Police say a man pulled a gun during a dispute with another customer in Walmart checkout lines near Philadelphia and opened fire, wounding several people before fleeing but was later arrested after crashing into a police vehicle.
Cheltenham Township police chief John Frye says all victims sustained nonlife-threatening injuries in the gunfire reported just after 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Cedarbrook Plaza Shopping Center.
Frye says two women in their 40s and a man in his 40s were wounded in the legs and another had a graze wound, while a fifth person later went to a hospital with unspecified injuries.
The male suspect and a female passenger fled, tossing the gun from the car, but ran into a police vehicle and were taken to hospitals along with two officers.
Police: 15-year-old exjunior firefighter steals firetruck
MANCHESTER, PA. » Pennsylvania officials say a 15-yearold ex-junior firefighter who stole a county vehicle also stole a firetruck from a community fire station in York County.
Northern York County Regional Police say it happened early Sunday when the teen stole a countyowned SUV after leaving a juvenile facility in Springettsbury Township. The York Dispatch reports the teenager then drove to the Strinestown Community Fire Co. station in Manchester — where he then stole a firetruck along with firefighter gear.
Police say they later found the truck abandoned in a muddy field and also recovered the firefighting equipment after finding the teen around noon Monday.
Officials say the firetruck didn’t appear to have severe damage. The teenager has been charged with theft.
Information from: The York Dispatch, http://www. yorkdispatch.com
Numerous rafters pulled from rainswollen Pennsylvania river
SLATINGTON, PA. » Fifty campers on a rafting trip were safely pulled from the rain-swollen Lehigh River in Pennsylvania this week after severe storms spurred heavy currents, officials said.
The campers were among those rescued Monday night by water rescue teams dispatched to an area near Slatington, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Philadelphia. That came after a rafting company initially couldn’t account for about 215 rafters, mostly teenage girls who were rafting along with some camp counselors.
Stephen Bretzik, general manager of Whitewater Rafting Adventures in Nesquehoning, which oversaw the trip, said the rescued girls were on rafts that had missed a “takeout location” on the river. Those rafts were guided to another location, where the girls got off the rafts and were helped up the river bank.
The massive search and rescue effort lasted for several hours before all the rafters were accounted for late Monday. All the girls and counselors were wearing life preserver vests and were accompanied by guides
One camper suffered cuts and scrapes when she climbed up the river bank, while one guide was treated for an allergic reaction.
Heavy rains overnight caused flooding in a wide swath of Pennsylvania on Monday, including areas soaked by a series of unusually heavy rains in recent weeks.
Mom who hosted elaborate prom sendoff charged with fraud
PHILADELPHIA » A Philadelphia mother who made headlines for an elaborate prom send-off and other events has been charged with Social Security benefits fraud.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia announced wire fraud, theft of government funds and Social Security fraud charges Tuesday against 44-year-old Saudia Shuler.
Prosecutors said Shuler applied for Social Security benefits saying she was disabled and unable to work, but continued working — including operating her own restaurant — costing the government more than $36,700.
Shuler threw a $25,000 Dubai-themed prom party for her son and other events including hosting a holiday-themed block party last winter.
Defense attorney Tariq el Shabazz told WPVI-TV that his client suffered a stroke and was in rehab and “unable to do anything” for more than two years.
Pittsburgh police officer injured when cruiser hits barrier
PITTSBURGH » Authorities say a Pittsburgh police officer was injured when his cruiser crashed into a barrier.
The single-vehicle accident occurred around 5:45 a.m. Tuesday. The officer was alone in the cruiser at the time, and no other injuries were reported in the crash.
The officer was taken to a local hospital in stable condition. But his name and further details on his injuries have not been disclosed.
It wasn’t clear if the officer was responding to a call at the time of the crash.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
State prison goes into lockdown after officers sickened
WAYNESBURG, PA. » Prison officials say a western Pennsylvania state prison has been locked down after four corrections officers were hospitalized following exposure to an unknown substance.
The State Correctional Institution in Greene County officers felt sick while searching an inmate’s property, and they were rushed to a hospital Monday night. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the prison near Waynesburg was locked down and a hazardous materials team was called to the prison.
Last week, state officials said six staff members at the SCI in Mercer County were sickened by a suspicious substance.
Authorities are investigating.
No charges to be filed against deliveryman who shot robber
BEAVER FALLS, PA. » Authorities say a deliveryman who shot and killed a would-be robber after a struggle on a western Pennsylvania street will not face any charges.
The Tribune-Review reports that Chief John Deluca of the Beaver Falls police force describes early Friday’s shooting as a “justifiable use of deadly force.”
He said in a statement that after consultation with Beaver County’s district attorney “we do not anticipate filing criminal charges against the victim at this time.”
The deliveryman said he was returning to his vehicle after delivering a pizza when a man approached and tried to rob him. He was stabbed but was able to get a handgun from his vehicle and fired a shot.
Twenty-nine-year-old Ryan Leonard of New Brighton fled but was found on a nearby porch and pronounced dead.
Coroner: Child’s death attributed to air conditioner misuse
SCRANTON, PA. » A coroner says an improperly used portable air conditioner overheated a small room, leading to the death of a 20-month-old northeastern Pennsylvania girl.
The Lackawanna County coroner’s office said Monday that an autopsy Monday determined that Sunday’s death of Nicole Heaton in Scranton was due to hyperthermia and dehydration.
Coroner Tim Rowland ruled the death accidental.
Police found the girl unresponsive and took her to the emergency room at Moses Taylor Hospital, where she died. An 8-month-old baby remains hospitalized.
Scranton police said the air conditioner effectively generated heat rather than cooling down the room.
Chief Carl Graziano called the death “a total tragedy.”
Police and the county district attorney’s office are investigating.
DA: Mother accused of killing girl had another child death
ELIZABETHTOWN, PA. » Prosecutors say a mother accused of killing her 4-month-old daughter had a child who died earlier and spoke of being “blamed again for this.”
Twenty-three-year-old Candace Parrow was arrested Monday and charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and strangulation.
The Lancaster County district attorney’s office says police found the child unresponsive July 16 in an Elizabethtown apartment, and she was later pronounced dead at Hershey Medical Center.
Parrow said she put her daughter down to sleep and returned about 10 minutes later to find her unresponsive.
Prosecutors said she was very distraught and made statements about being “blamed again for this.”