Police: 2 Indiana County shootings appear unrelated
A man is dead and a woman is in critical condition following two shootings Saturday in Indiana Borough that police say are unrelated.
Police arrested two suspects in the shootings, which occurred near the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus during “IUPatty's Day,” an unsanctioned student celebration of St. Patrick's Day.
Police were called just before 1 a.m. Saturday to Philadelphia and South 12th streets, where they found Thomas M. Stanko, 21, of Fort Campbell, Ky., with a handgun.
Nearby was Stanko's cousin, Julian Cole of Pittsburgh, who had suffered a gunshot wound to his forearm. Cole was taken to Indiana Regional Medical Center.
A second victim, a 23-year-old man, was found on the front porch of a home on South 12th Street with gunshot wounds to his thigh and left foot. He was also taken Indiana Regional before being transferred to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center.
Stanko told police he and Cole had gotten into a confrontation with three men while walking on Philadelphia Street. Police said he drew his weapon and fired two warning shots along with three additional shots. Stanko did not know if the bullets struck any of the men, but he knew he had shot his cousin.
Stanko is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, court records show.
Less than an hour after the first shooting, police were called to the 1100 block of Oakland Avenue, where they found Carlos Eduardo Recalde-Campos, 21, of Indiana with gunshot wounds to his chest, along with a woman who appeared to have been shot in the rib cage. Both were taken to Indiana Regional Medical Center.
Recalde-Campos was transferred to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh, where he died shortly after 6 a.m. Saturday. The woman, whom police identified as Samantha Riley, was listed in critical condition Saturday afternoon.
Witnesses identified the gunman in the second shooting as Matthew T. McNevin, 20, of Indiana, who was arrested at a house on Bethel Church Road in Marion Center.
McNevin is charged with homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, receiving stolen property and carrying an unlicensed firearm — a .40-caliber handgun that police say was stolen.
Stanko is being held on $200,000 cash bond. McNevin is being held without bail, court records show.
“Thank goodness we were able to close these cases in short order,” Indiana County District Attorney Patrick Dougherty said. “But that doesn't minimize the impact they have on our community.”
Each year, hundreds of college students spill into the streets for the IUPatty's celebration.
“Indiana's a great community for a multitude of reasons, but we don't want people coming here specifically for this weekend,” Dougherty said. “At some point, we have to say enough is enough, and the loss of young lives has got to stop.”
The Associated Press contributed. Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2862 or pvarine@tribweb.com.
