‘A horrific nightmare': 3 teens shot, middle schooler killed, as gunman fires into large crowd in Bensalem

Police are investigating after a brawl among a large group of people turned deadly on Halloween night in Bensalem, when a 14-year-old boy was killed, officials said.

According to police, Peter Romano, a 14-year-old student at Snyder Middle School and Bensalem resident, was shot and killed in an incident that began 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 night.

He was pronounced shortly after being taken to a nearby hospital, officials said.

On Wednesday, the Bensalem Township School District superintendent, Samuel Lee, said that "thoughts and prayers go out to the affected individuals and their families during this incredibly challenging time."

Lee also noted that the district has taken steps to "address the emotional and psychological" needs of students and staff.

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.

"What we do know is it started as 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 scene. "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 -- who police did not provide identifying information on -- and a 19-year-old man were both shot in their legs, officials said.

The man was treated for gunshot wounds to his lower extremities and released and, officials said, the other victim was still in the hospital in stable condition and is set to undergo surgery to repair injuries to both legs.

McVey did not immediately have a description of the vehicle believed to be involved in this incident, and he said police are still unsure if anyone in the vehicle was part of the earlier brawl or if the vehicle was passing by before the shooting occurred.

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After the shooting, McVey said the driver sped away from the scene headed northbound on Bristol Pike.

Skyforce10 was over the scene where a large police presence was visible on Tuesday night.

Officials said they believe surveillance cameras on businesses in that parking lot may have caught images of the shooting.

Police said that this remains a "very active investigation" and said, on Wednesday, they would provide any new information as soon as it becomes available.