Two gunmen opened fire at an off-campus Bloomsburg University residence Wednesday night, injuring two male freshmen students originally from Philadelphia.
The shooting, which took place two blocks away from campus, left one of the 20-year-old victims in critical condition and the other with serious injuries.
Bloomsburg police rushed one of the victims, who was shot in the chest, to the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. around 10 p.m.
Shortly after, the second victim walked into the same emergency room. He was treated and released yesterday afternoon.
While authorities have yet to identify the suspects and any possible motives, they believe the shooting was a targeted attack.
“It appears to us that there was some reason for these two suspects to come to this particular place,” Sergeant Leonard Rogustki of Bloomsburg Police Department said. “This doesn’t appear to be something that was random, so it’s not two people who are targeting persons in the general public,” he continued.
But police urged locals and students to remain on the lookout.
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The attack took place in a bedroom adjacent to the kitchen. Police say several other students were in the apartment at the time, but able to escape the gunmen.
"This happened very quickly, so they witnessed it, but in some respects, part of it,” Sgt. Rogutski said. "They were certainly trying to get away from the two suspects, but were able to give us a vague description of the suspects.”
Police hope to uncover more details about the suspects using surveillance footage obtained in the vicinity of the apartment.
"There is a lot of surveillance video, and we have been able to see a lot of the activity as we are in the process of continuing to collect that activity,” Rogutski said.
The identities of the gunshot victims are being withheld for 30 days as part of a search warrant sealed by the Columbia County District Attorney.
"The district attorney felt that since the actors still remain at the large, the victims could be at risk if their names are released to the public,” Rogutski said.
Anyone with information in regards to ongoing investigation is asked to call the Bloomsburg Police Department at (570) 784-4155.
