UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. – A man shot on Wednesday a truck driver pumping petrol and injured another driver in a Wawa, in the municipality of Upper Macungie.
Authorities are investigating the series of events that sparked the seemingly random shots in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and then ended up with the suspect giving him the gun, officials said.
It began with a meeting on Route 22 between Route 309 and Cedar Crest Boulevard, County District Attorney Jim Martin said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
FULL VIDEO: Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin and other officials discuss a shooting that left two people, including the suspect, dead.
Two vehicles had a “encounter” on the 22nd before 5 a.m. and one of the drivers fired at the other vehicle, Martin said.
The woman driving the vehicle did not realize her car had been run over until she stopped at Wawa on Schantz Road, off Route 100, to eat Martin. He was not injured.
The driver of the other vehicle, who authorities believe shot him, entered Wawa’s parking lot and drove through the building, Martin said. He then shot a driver sitting in a Jeep and shot a trailer driver who was outside his cab pumping gasoline, Martin said.
The driver of the truck died from his injuries, Martin said.
The driver of the Jeep is being treated at the hospital and his injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, the DA said.
The alleged shooter then took off on foot and ran down Route 100 about a quarter of a mile before apparently committing suicide, Martin said. The police scene stretched down Route 100 to the front of the Brookside Children’s Education Center. The center was closed at the time.
The Lehigh County Forensic Office declared the suspect dead.
Investigators are trying to find out the reason for the shootings.
“It seems like the three traits I’ve described seem indiscriminate and have nothing to do with each other,” Martin said.
Martin credited a Wawa employee with quick thinking to help keep others safe. The employee took out trash when he heard the shots, so he introduced two people to the parking lot and alerted workers and customers inside, Martin said. Martin said employees quickly closed the store doors and everyone in his place.
A state police officer was also injured in the incident. He was hit by a vehicle while assisting with traffic control, state police said. He was treated at the hospital and has since been released.
Authorities have identified some of the people involved, but their names are not yet released pending notification from their families, Martin said.
Investigators are focusing on the vehicles in the parking lot, including the suspect’s car, as well as the Jeep, the truck and another car.
The investigation is ongoing and very active and officers are in other parts of Lehigh County to try to reconcile what happened and why.
“Serious police incident” in Wawa, in the upper Macungie