51°
Yovanni Suazo Jr., 21, and Alexander J. Perez-Sotomayor, 42, both died from gunshot wounds and their deaths have been ruled homicides, said city police in a release.
The pair was found unresponsive on the 100 block of East South Street around 1:30 a.m. on March 24, Daily Voice reported. At that time, police said the shooting occurred when one of the men who lived in the neighborhood confronted the other about allegedly breaking into cars.
Now, investigators have released new details on the circumstances that led to the men's deaths.
On the night of the shooting, police say Perez-Sotomayor saw Suazo and another walking through the neighborhood and believed that they were trying to break into vehicles. Perez-Sotomayor grabbed a .40-caliber handgun and called a neighbor, who joined the 42-year-old to confront Suazo and the other man, per the release.
The neighbor, "armed with a metal pipe," made contact with Suazo and his friend, police said. Meanwhile, Perez-Sotomayor walked up behind Suazo and ordered him to turn out his pockets to prove he hadn't been stealing, authorities believe.
"At this point, a brief altercation ensued during which Mr. Suazo pulled out his 9mm handgun and fired several shots at Mr. Perez-Sotomayor, striking him several times," APD wrote.
"Mr. Perez-Sotomayor fired a single shot in return, striking Mr. Suazo once," they added.
Police later reviewed surveillance footage from the scene, finding no evidence that Suazo or his associate had tried to enter any parked cars, the department said. There is also no indication that anyone other than the two victims "participated in the shooting in anyway," they added.
"As it appears Mr. Suazo and Mr. Perez-Sotomayor were the only shooters and shot each other to death, no criminal charges will be filed as a result of this very unfortunate incident," Allentown police wrote.
"Neither the 'witness/neighbor' nor the other male who accompanied Mr. Suazo are accused of any wrongdoing and, therefore, their names are not being released."
The investigation is closed, authorities added.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Berks and receive free news updates.
