Norristown Police describe it as a "chaotic" scene. They arrived on the 300 block of East Moore Street around 4:30 a.m. after hearing shots fired while at the nearby police station.
They say a gun battle had broken out between two groups of people.
Immediately they saw one shooting victim on the ground. Police say they heard a woman's screams coming from the trunk of a bullet-ridden car.
Investigators say a young woman was tied up and had been beaten. A tech-9 semi automatic weapon was also found in the truck, according to police.
"It's a very dangerous weapon, certainly doesn't belong in a residential neighborhood," said Chief Russell Bono, Norristown Police.
Two other people who had been shot were found by officers inside a nearby home. Three people in total were airlifted to the hospital.
Police say two of those people are suspects and they are trying to determine if the third is a victim or a suspect. One other man who was not hurt was taken into police custody.
The woman found inside the trunk is the girlfriend of one of the hospitalized men, according to police. The pair is from Norristown.
"At this point, it appears she was about to be abducted and taken from this area," said Bono.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
The three known suspects are all from Philadelphia.
Police are trying to figure out what sparked the shootout and say the situation could have been even worse. "Innocent people in a residential neighborhood sleeping at 4:30 in the morning and bullets were flying around, it's utter madness," Bono said.
Mary English, a mother of three, talks about the terrifying wake up call. "I woke up with a bullet hole in my window and gunshots being sprayed outside my front door," said English.
