NANTICOKE, Pa. — The search continues for the person responsible for shooting a teenager in Nanticoke. Officials say they believe the shooting is "gang-related."
Meanwhile, neighbors near the incident say the neighborhood is changing.
"I heard it, and I thought that it was BB guns, and then my friend called and said,' I heard it was gunshots,'" said Ariel Dorris.
Those shots, Friday evening, were not the first that Dorris has heard outside her home in Nanticoke.
The mom of three says the neighborhood has changed since the time when she was growing up here.
"We used to be walking around Nanticoke with my friends. You didn't have to worry about getting kidnapped, walking down the alleyway and getting jumped, or being mad young and getting shot at; we never had that problem."
Nanticoke Police say a 14-year-old was shot in the head during a drive-by shooting around 7:30 p.m. Friday. The shooting happened near the intersection of West Green and Maple Streets. Mayor Kevin Coughlin says it's a neighborhood where people are always coming and going from nearby businesses.
"You're always concerned about the safety of the children, adults, anyone walking around. There was a daycare center right there, it was really very alarming," says Mayor Coughlin.
But Mayor Coughlin is reassuring residents that they are safe. He says the teen was targeted by who he believes were out-of-town gang members,
"They're gangs, but they're not from Nanticoke. They're trying to join other gangs from outside the area, and they're trying to make their own little gangs in town. But we're investigating it along with state police."
Albert Czarnacki has lived in Nanticoke for more than 45 years and says over the past several years. He's seen a lot of new faces move in.
"There's more people moving in because of the economic opportunity, but with that, we see some things going on as far as police having their issues with people coming in," says Czarnacki.
And while Nanticoke Police and state police continue to investigate Friday's shooting, Mayor Coughlin says they're taking extra steps to help combat drugs and violence.
"We hired more police now, too. We have three that will be graduating from the class, but we're doing our best with patrolling the streets and everything," added the police.
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