16-year-old charged in 'outrageous' Park City Center shooting. No charges for armed bystander

A 16-year-old Lancaster boy has been charged with attempted homicide in the Sunday afternoon shooting at the Park City Center in Lancaster that left four wounded. 

An armed bystander who wounded the suspect was not charged, Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams ruling that his actions were justified.

Adams described the shooting as "outrageous," plunging the mall into chaos and endangering the lives of the 50 shoppers who were nearby. Some shoppers were injured when they tried to flee the site of the gunfire, and others hid and feared for their safety. Fifty people called 911.

A total of six shots were fired, three by the suspect, Jeremiahs Josiah-Alberto Sanchez, and three by the bystander, resulting in four people wounded, including Sanchez, Adams said. 

"Gun violence anywhere is unacceptable," she said at a Friday morning news conference. "It's particularly unnerving when it happens on a Sunday afternoon at a shopping mall."

Sanchez, of the first block of Locust Street in Lancaster, faces multiple charges, including two counts of attempted homicide, three counts of aggravated assault and 52 counts of recklessly endangering another person.

He remains in the hospital under police guard recovering from gunshot wounds to his hand and elbow, Adams said. He will be arraigned at a future date.

More about the shooting:Shooting at Park City Mall in Lancaster: 'It felt like years' one employee said

The scene inside the mall:Park City mall shooting: Shoppers, workers talk about 'eerie' scene

Shooting details:Here's what we know about the incident at Lancaster mall

According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, Sanchez and two others were seen walking from the mall's center court to the JC Penney wing of sprawling shopping center shortly before 2:30 p.m. Surveillance video showed two others, Elijah Deliz, 18, and Sergio Vargas, 30, confronted Sanchez and his companions near a jewelry store and began fighting.

At one point, the complaint says, Deliz and one of Sanchez's companions were fighting and broke away from the group while Sanchez was still engaged with Vargas. 

Sanchez then pulled a handgun - a Glock Model 17 that had been reported stolen in September in Lebanon County - from the waistband on his pants and fired twice at Deliz, the complaint states. One shot hit Deliz in the left thigh; the other struck a 30-year-old woman, a bystander, in her right arm.

Sanchez and Vargas continued to struggle, according to the complaint.

The gunfire attracted the attention of an armed bystander, described as a 50-year-old man who was legally carrying a handgun, who approached Sanchez and Vargas. The man saw the two fighting and, nearby, another person, Deliz, who said, "I've been shot."

Sanchez then fired again, the bullet passing through both Deliz and Sanchez's hands and striking a wall near the bystander.  

The armed bystander then fired three shots, one hitting Sanchez in the elbow, and told the suspect to stop moving, according to the complaint. The man then approached, kicked Sanchez's gun out of reach and held him at gunpoint while awaiting help to arrive. Other shoppers provided first aid to Sanchez.

Adams said the bystander's actions were not only justified, but that he "potentially and likely prevented further injury" by taking action.

"This incident could have been a lot worse," she said.

Adams said she watched the police interview with the bystander, whose name was not released, and that he was "visibly distraught." 

"He expressed concern for Sanchez," she said. "When he saw Sanchez was, in his words, a 'young kid,' it was upsetting for him. It was a traumatic experience for him. He was wrestling with what he had done."

Adams said, "It was something he did not have to do, but he felt compelled to do it. Absent him being there, this could have been much more serious."

A reporter mentioned that Park City has a policy prohibiting firearms on the property, a policy that's posted at mall entrances. The policy "does not trump the law," Adams said, and is not a violation of criminal law. 

Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at 717-771-2046 or at mike@ydr.com.