A man accused in a shooting in an East Huntingdon plaza Tuesday afternoon fired a handgun three times, beat up his target and then walked to his pickup truck before driving 8 miles to Connellsville, according to Trooper Steve Limani.
The wounded man has been dating 38-year-old Steven Heald’s estranged spouse, Limani said Wednesday.
State police obtained surveillance footage of the 1 p.m. shooting outside the Planet Fitness in Crossroads Plaza.
“It went from a small verbal confrontation, escalated very quickly into three gunshots,” Limani said. “(Heald) didn’t stop then, (he) stood over top him and struck him several times and then walked away.”
Troopers offered more details on Wednesday about the shooting that sent the wounded man to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville with gunshot injuries to his shoulder, buttocks and hip as well as bruises and cuts on his hand and face, according to court papers.
Heald, a resident of Connellsville, turned himself in at the Connellsville police station, troopers said. He is charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and stalking.
The wounded man told bystanders and state police that Heald fired the shots, according to court papers.
Troopers believe Heald knew his target was going to Planet Fitness and confronted him. Limani said the two men had talked before, but nothing was violent about those conversations.
“What escalated it or brought it to a head yesterday that caused him to fire three shots at an unarmed person is quite astounding,” Limani said.
A handgun troopers believe was used in the shooting was found at the scene, which was steps away from the entrance to Planet Fitness. Police had the area in front of the gym blocked off by crime scene tape Tuesday afternoon as they gathered evidence and talked to witnesses.
Crossroads Plaza is just off Route 119 and not far from Mt. Pleasant and Scottdale boroughs in a largely commercial area with multiple other businesses, stores and restaurants nearby. In the plaza are Tractor Supply, Dollar General and medical offices, among others.
“This is 1 o’clock in the afternoon in a shopping plaza,” Limani said. “It’s almost unfathomable. It’s surprising no one else got hurt.”
Investigators praised bystanders, at least one of whom was a nurse, for jumping in to help the wounded man and, likely, save his life. He remained hospitalized. The nurse was going into the gym to work out.
A witness said two women and a man held pressure on the wounds, talked to him and kept him warm until an ambulance got there.
“Without having a person with some expertise there immediately, and all of the people who were trying to stop the bleeding … there’s a high likelihood that he would not have survived and, most likely, we would be talking about an actual homicide as opposed to an attempted homicide,” Limani said.
When Heald surrendered, troopers said he had cuts on his knuckles and blood on his shoes but not his clothing. He was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison without bail. He didn’t have an attorney listed in online court records. A Jan. 21 preliminary hearing is set.