2 teens wounded in Columbus Park shooting as police probe possible link to school fight
A confrontation at a west Erie park possibly connected to an earlier school fight led to gunshots and the wounding of two teenage boys on Monday afternoon.
City police investigators are now looking at two people as possible suspects in the shooting at Columbus Park in Erie's Little Italy neighborhood.
The shooting victims, both 17, were undergoing surgery on Monday and detectives were not yet able to interview them about what had happened at the park, Erie police Deputy Chief William Marucci said Tuesday.
Marucci said police are looking at a couple of possible suspects in the shooting, based on witness information. He said investigators are also looking into whether the shooting is possibly related to a fight that occurred at Erie High School sometime in early March.
One of the boys was shot in the right foot and was found laying in the roadway on West 15th Street after officers were sent to Columbus Park to investigate reports of multiple gunshots at about 3:45 p.m. Monday, Marucci said.
Officers followed a blood trail from the area to a nearby residence on Cherry Street, where they found the other 17-year-old victim with a gunshot wound through the biceps, Marucci said.
Both boys were taken to UPMC Hamot for treatment.
Erie police officers found several shell casings on the basketball court at Columbus Park, which sits east of Poplar Street between West 15th and West 16th streets. Casings were also found in a grassy area to the south of the basketball court, Marucci said.
Officers at the scene were interviewing people at West 16th and Cherry streets as other officers were responding to the scene at Columbus Park late Monday afternoon. That location is a block east of Columbus Park.
One person at the park said he heard gunshots fired in a rapid succession.
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Anyone with information that could assist in the ongoing investigation is asked to call Erie police Detective Sgt. Matthew Berarducci at 814-870-1221 or Detective James Langdon at 814-870-1154.
The shooting occurred as Erie police continue to respond to multiple calls involving gunfire, often involving youth in gangs.
Two months ago, on Feb. 8, police converged on the neighborhood of West 29th and Cherry streets after gunfire broke out. Some of the suspects fired from an SUV, police said.
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A 14-year-old boy who was not in the vehicle was struck in the neck by a bullet, police said. Police in that case have charged six people, including a 15-year-old boy.
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: 2 teens wounded in Columbus Park shooting. Tie to school fight probed
