Police say 30-year-old Axel Barreto is wanted for questioning after seven teens were apparently lured to a Juniata Park street, where they ended up victims of a deadly ambush.
According to investigators, a fight at school and on Facebook between the victims and three brothers escalated into a planned confrontation.
It was around 10:30 p.m. when a 1997 Toyota van carrying seven teenagers pulled up to the home of the brothers along the 1500 block of East Luzerne Street in Juniata Park. That's when police say the brothers' stepfather, Axel Barreto, stepped outside to confront the teens.
The teens pulled away and drove around to the back of the house. Barreto then allegedly went to the back of the home and opened fire on the van, unloading ten to twelve rounds at point-blank range.
When officers arrived at the scene moments later, witnesses told them that the Toyota had sped off for Saint Christopher's Hospital.
16-year-old Javier Colon and 14-year-old Joshua Soto were pronounced dead at Saint Christopher's Hospital for Children. 14-year-old Dante Lugo is extremely critical, having sustained a gunshot wound to the head. He is not expected to survive.
The 16-years-old driver of the van was shot in the neck and remains in critical condition.
Two men have been taken into custody for their alleged involvement in the shooting. Barreto, however, remains at large.
So far, no charges have been filed in the case.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Axel Barreto is asked to call homicide detectives at 215-686-3334 or 215-686-3335.
