Police are searching for a suspect who shot a man outside his home in Westmoreland County, prompting two nearby schools to go on lockdown for most of the day.
Stanwood Elementary School and the Westmoreland Career & Tech Center in New Stanton went on lockdown after the shooting was reported around 6:30 a.m. in the 200 block of Penn Valley Road in the Hunker area of Hempfield.
State police said troopers found Harold James Marietta Jr. shot in the neck outside his home. Police said he was shot while in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, which was parked in his driveway. Mr. Marietta’s wife heard gunshots and ran out of the house. She told police she saw a man running south on Penn Valley Road.
Mr. Marietta was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
The schools were locked down as police searched the area via ground and helicopter. The lockdown has since been lifted.
Police described the suspect as around 6 feet tall; he was wearing jeans and a light-colored, hooded sweatshirt and gloves.
Authorities ask anyone with information to contact state police at 724-832-3288.
First Published: March 19, 2015, 1:40 p.m.
