Officials have concluded their investigation of a triple shooting on Halloween that left a teen boy dead in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and a police chase in Ohio that ended with the suspect in the teen's murder shooting and killing himself.
The murder of Peter Romano
Peter Romano, a 14-year-old student at Snyder Middle School and Bensalem, Pennsylvania, resident, was killed in a triple shooting that occurred as officers responded to a call of a large group fighting in a parking lot at the corner of Bristol Pike and Woodbine Avenue at about 7:35 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
The fight -- which happened as a group gathered in a parking lot while children throughout the community were out trick-or-treating -- turned deadly as first responders were on their way to the scene, police said in a statement.
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"What we do know is it started as a fight, it quickly upgraded to a shooting, now we have one individual dead and two others shot," Bensalem Director of Public Safety William McVey said at the time of the shooting. "This was a horrific nightmare tonight in Bensalem."
Police said investigators believe the shooting happened when, during that brawl, more than a dozen shots were fired into the gathered crowd from a vehicle parked at the intersection of Woodbine Avenue and Bristol Pike.
Three teenagers were shot during the incident. Romano was shot in the chest and a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old man were both shot in their legs, officials said.
Romano was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to a nearby hospital, officials said. The other two victims survived.
The search for the gunman
The shooter was spotted on surveillance video fleeing in a gray 2014 Hyundai Elantra, Bensalem police said.
Police sent out an alert to be on the lookout for the Elantra, which had been previously reported stolen out of nearby Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, investigators said. They also named 19-year-old Sean Hughes, from Lower Makefield Township, as a person of interest in Romano's killing.
On Thursday, Nov. 2, around 2:15 p.m., police in Marysville, Ohio, -- a suburb of Columbus -- spotted the Elantra and tried to conduct a traffic stop based on a license plate reader hit, Bensalem and Marysville police said. The operator of the Elantra was considered "armed and dangerous."
The driver of the Elantra didn't stop and a highspeed chase ensued across several streets, Marysville police said. In the bodycam footage, one of the pursuing officers is driving as fast as 90 mph.
Police said a pursuing officer then deployed spike strips along Northwest Parkway near Polling Road ahead of the pursuit.
"While the spike strips were effective, the vehicle continued to flee onto Poling Road from Northwest Parkway," a police spokesperson wrote. "Marysville officers continued the pursuit along Poling Road onto Bear Swamp Road before the suspect vehicle stopped, and the driver and front seat passenger jumped out of the vehicle and fled on foot."
The bodycam video shows officers with guns drawn running after Hughes in a field. When police found him, he was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to investigators.
Police officers also found the passenger, later identified as 25-year-old Joshua Marquez, lying in some tall grass a short distance off the road, Marysville police said. In the bodycam footage, Marquez tells police he had wanted to surrender and wanted to get out of the car but Hughes refused to let him leave. He also appears to cooperate with the officers as they take him into custody.
Marquez was taken into custody without incident and later transported to a hospital due to a medical issue, according to investigators. In the video, Marquez tells the officers he was having trouble breathing and they allow him to sit up.
Investigators said Marquez was a convicted felon who was in possession of a handgun during the police chase. He allegedly tossed the gun near where the chase ended. The weapon, a loaded revolver, was later recovered by police, according to investigators.
Marquez was charged with obstructing justice for helping Hughes during his time in Ohio after the shooting, according to investigators.
Police initially investigated whether or not Marquez was involved in Romano's murder. Months later, on March 15, 2024, Bensalem Police announced they had concluded their investigation of the shooting and determined that Sean Hughes was the only person involved in Romano's death.
The investigation revealed Hughes stole a Sig Sauer handgun from an apartment in Philadelphia prior to the Oct. 31 shooting. The weapon's original owner, Kenrick Winslow, had given the weapon to one of the apartment residents in 2017 or 2018, investigators said. Winslow was later arrested and charged with illegal transfer of firearm, which is a second degree misdemeanor.
'I'm so heartbroken for them'
Romano's loved ones described him as a typical teenage boy and said his killing was "devastating."
"I'm so heartbroken for them," Amy Nekornnik, who lives near the scene of the shooting, told NBC10.
Nekornnik said she was one of the first people to witness the aftermath of the shooting.
"A police officer was just over the top of this boy and they were just trying to get him to respond in any way possible," she said. "I was just urging him to start CPR. I asked him, 'Did you check vitals?' It's just such a whirlwind. At one point I almost wanted to stop and do it myself. The maternal instincts kick in."
Romano's death brings back painful memories for Nekornnik. Her 25-year-old son was murdered on their front step three years ago, only about 100 yards from where Romano was killed.
"I just know this pain," she said. "There's nothing you could say or do. It's just, nothing."
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
