A 21-year-old man was rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound after a shooting Friday evening in the 1100 block of Maple Street in Bethlehem, and police have since taken a 15-year-old boy into custody in connection with the case. Officers were called to the block at roughly 5:30 p.m. following a report of an injured person, and found the man suffering from a gunshot wound inside a home there.
The man's injuries were initially described as being of unknown severity, according to an early report from WFMZ.com, which also said no one was in custody at that time. A subsequent WFMZ report updated those details, saying the victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of what are believed to be life-threatening injuries.
Teen Taken Into Custody as Investigation Continues
That later WFMZ account said officers located a 15-year-old male believed to be involved in the shooting and took him into custody. The station reported that officers observed a .22-caliber firearm at the scene, while The Morning Call reported that police recovered a .22-caliber firearm. The Morning Call also noted that police are not releasing the teen's identity due to his age.
Bethlehem police said they remained at the scene while investigating and that the inquiry was continuing.
Not the First Shooting on Bethlehem's Maple Street and Flower Drive This Year
Friday's incident adds to a string of shootings that have rattled Bethlehem neighborhoods in recent weeks and months. Earlier this month, two men were shot on Flower Drive on Oct. 8; one of them, 20-year-old Quamir Davis, died days later at St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill, with the coroner ruling his death a homicide, according to The Morning Call. As of that outlet's Oct. 19 report, no arrest had been made in the Flower Drive case.
A separate shooting in Bethlehem last September also left a man hospitalized. lehighvalleylive.com reported that a 30-year-old man was taken to a hospital in critical condition following that incident but was expected to survive. Police have not indicated whether any of these cases are connected.
