Pennsylvania

Police Search Across Pennsylvania County for Suspected Gunman in Killing of Man, Shooting of Woman

Multiple neighborhoods, miles apart are focus in search for suspected killer before he is arrested after standoff near schools.

UPDATE: Police took the suspect into custody after an armed standoff in Bethlehem Township.


The manhunt for a gunman who killed a man and injured the victim's wife spanned miles across a Pennsylvania county, eventually leading to an armed standoff near a school that ended peacefully.

Gunfire rang out at a home on the 500 block of Longacre Drive in Lehigh Township Wednesday. Neighbors told NBC10 they heard the sound of people fighting around 6:30 p.m.

“We started hearing a woman screaming," said neighbor Kelsea Weber.

When police arrived at the home, they found 64-year-old Joseph Mullner dead from and his wife, Melinda, hurt. Melinda Mullner has called 911 after her "hubsand's cousin, Johnny," shot them, according to a criminal complaint.

Officers found Joseph Mullner dead in the driveway of his home and Melinda Mullner suffereing from three gunshot wounds in the kitchen, police said.

Melinda Mullner told investigators she believed Hann aimed at her husband, police said.

Police are searching for a gunman who shot and killed a man and injured the man’s wife at a Lehigh Township home. NBC10’s Drew Smith has the latest details on the manhunt.

The search for the shooter spanned across Northampton County as it became focused on Hann's home about 13 miles away from the scene of the killing in the area of Clearfield and Moorestown roads in Bushkill Township overnight. Polie said Hann's phone rang within 1,500 feet of his home late Wednesday night.

Just after daybreak, SWAT officers could be seen entering Hann's Cherry Court home. Then, before 8 a.m., police could be seen racing from the Bushkill Township scene. 

A killer is on the run in the Lehigh Valley. NBC10's Randy Gyllenhaal is following the manhunt from a very active investigation site in Bushkill Thursday morning.

A short time later, police in Bethlehem Township surrounded a pickup truck near Oakland and Santee roads -- more than 11 miles from the Bushkill Township home. The armed standoff caused nearby Bethlehem Area School District schools including Freedom High and East Hills Middle schools to be put on lockout.

Police finally took the man -- identified in court records as Jonn Hann -- into custody, alive, around 10:15 a.m. The 61-year-old faces criminal homicide charges.

Earlier, investigators spent hours at the scene of the shooting collecting evidence.

“I had people scared texting me asking if we’re OK,” Weber said. “Because you just would never hear it in a small town like this."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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