1 Dead, 1 Hurt After Verbal Altercation Ends in Gunfire Outside Easton Target Store

A verbal altercation escalated into a deadly shooting outside a Target store in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, on Sunday afternoon, the county’s district attorney said.

The shooting happened around 2:15 p.m. outside the big box store at 3800 block of Dryland Way in Easton.

Northampton County District Attorney Terry Houck said one car was in the lot when at least one additional car drove up. People inside the cars exchanged words and it escalated into a shootout, Houck said.

“Two people were hit. One was killed. The other one is currently in the hospital in what we’re being told is stable condition,” the district attorney said.

Houck declined to say which area hospital the surviving person is being treated. He also did not identify the person killed.

Jayden Ofray, a Target employee, told NBC10 that customers came running into the store after the shooting.

“We all had to shelter-in-place and the police locked down the lot,” he said. A coworker saw two men wearing black masks running to a car after the shooting, he said.

Large swaths of the parking lot are roped off by police tape. Evidence markers sit in several locations including next to a black handgun in an empty parking spot near the entrance to the store. Several police officers were seen milling around the area taking photos and collecting evidence.

Another witness, Annisa, told NBC10 that she and a friend arrived at the store shortly after the shooting. They were unaware of what happened until they got near the store and saw blood around the entrance. Then other customers told her there had been a shooting.

“It was insane,” she said, adding that customers were confused until police locked down the shopping center. Officers also searched a nearby Burlington department store, she said.

Houck, the district attorney, said the Pennsylvania State Police, Colonial Regional Police Department, and his office were all investigating. He did not say whether anyone was taken into custody.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Source: nbcphiladelphia