A dispute that began inside a Lewistown bar preceded a shooting on Logan Street on September 5, when police say 42-year-old Kio Manuel Dejesus-Pena opened fire on a group of five people, firing 21 rounds and wounding one man, according to Local 21 News. Nearly a week later, investigators had not found Dejesus-Pena or recovered the gun.
Police Account of the Shooting
According to Fox43, the trouble started when three men argued inside the bar while two women separately argued over a man. Investigators reconstructed the sequence by reviewing surveillance footage. Police said Dejesus-Pena waited outside for the others to leave and later changed clothes. He may have retrieved a gun hidden between two properties before the group of five walked toward their vehicle on the 200 block of Logan Street.
Police say Dejesus-Pena then fired 21 shots at the group. The victims' rental vehicle was struck by five rounds as the five people tried to get inside, with the doors still open, according to a Lewistown Police Department statement relayed on Facebook. Other parked vehicles were also hit, and at least one uninvolved vehicle left the area during the shooting.
Victim Treated for Non-Life-Threatening Wound
Statewide Firearm-Violence Context
The available statewide data provide context but do not establish how firearm-related violent crime in Mifflin County compared with Pennsylvania overall in the most recent complete reporting year. According to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, statewide homicides fell 23% in 2024 compared with the prior year, while aggravated assaults by firearm decreased 15% and firearm robberies fell 32%.
One man was hit and later treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound at Geisinger Medical Center, per the Fox43 report and as reported by ABC27. That same account notes the victim did not realize he had been shot until later. Officers were called to the area after a report of shots fired.
Bar surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed the shooter walking casually into a nearby alley shortly after the barrage, still in his changed clothes, according to the police statement relayed on Facebook. The firearm had not been found, complicating efforts to recover the weapon.
How Police Identified a Suspect
The investigation identified Dejesus-Pena as the shooter, per the same Facebook statement from the department. That identification led to an arrest warrant being issued on September 8.
Dejesus-Pena is now charged with five counts of attempted criminal homicide and other offenses, according to Fox43 and as noted by Local 21 News. He was prohibited from possessing a firearm, according to the report. The case's ultimate penalties will depend on how the charges are resolved.
Search for the Suspect and Evidence
Police continued searching for the firearm as the investigation proceeded. The victims' rental car was among the vehicles struck during the shooting, per the department's Facebook statement.
Police said Dejesus-Pena has an extensive criminal record spanning Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey and has ties outside the state. The Lewistown Police Department requested help from the U.S. Marshals Service, whose Middle District of Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force is assisting in the search. Police have urged Dejesus-Pena to turn himself in and asked anyone with information to contact the Lewistown Police Department.
The Shooting's Impact on Lewistown
The shooting occurred on a residential block in Lewistown, where 21 rounds were fired. The gunfire damaged the victims' rental vehicle and other cars, while one man suffered a non-life-threatening wound.
The victim's gunshot wound, while not life-threatening, remains part of the aftermath as the search for Dejesus-Pena continues. The bullet-riddled rental car and the other damaged vehicles on Logan Street are also part of that aftermath.
