Washington County man accused of opening fire near kids playing outside
WASHINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) — Police are looking for a Washington County man who they say is "armed and dangerous."
Police said he fired multiple shots near a playground while dozens of kids were playing outside.
"I heard boom, boom, boom, boom, boom and six or seven of them, looked out the window and heard a car screech into the tree," Rebecca Jankowski said.
Jankowski and her husband, Shane, live at the Lincoln Terrace Housing Complex in a unit across from where a shooting happened late Tuesday afternoon.
"The whole passenger door was ripped off," Shane said.
"We had no idea what was going on," Rebecca said.
Investigators said they're looking for Martez Thomas Jr. Police said Thomas fired at least 10 shots with a handgun toward two people. They weren't hit, but it happened around 4:45 p.m. near a playground along Forrest Avenue. Neighbors said kids from an after-school program at the Lemoyne Community Center were playing outside.
"There were still kids everywhere," said one neighbor. "I didn't see one that was a teenager. They were all young."
When police showed up at the scene, they found two banged-up vehicles with no one inside. Police said surveillance video shows Thomas crashing his vehicle into another car with two people in it. Then he's seen driving toward Washington and Jefferson College.
Thomas' vehicle broke down at the intersection of Penn and East Chestnut streets, police said. He and another person are seen on video getting out of the car and running into Maiden Laundry.
Some neighbors said they are ready to leave the area.
"It really sucks because we don't feel safe at our home now," Rebecca said.
Investigators said Thomas could face additional charges. They also said they're planning on making other arrests.
If you have any information, call Washington County 911 or the Washington police.
