POTTSTOWN — A man was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon just a few hundred yards from the borough police station and the suspected shooter is already in custody because he was detained by witnesses to the shooting, police said.
The shooting occurred just after noon near the railroad tracks at South Hanover Street and Security Plaza, which is also the borough’s bus transportation hub, as well as the location of two district court offices, according to a joint press release from Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele and Pottstown Police Chief Mick Markovich.
The initial investigation indicated the victim was shot at least twice at close range, according to police. The victim was transported to Pottstown Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police arrived at the scene to find the suspected shooter being held by witnesses, who kept him there until the police arrived.
The suspected shooter, whose name has not yet been released, is in custody and is to be charged later Wednesday, according to police. An autopsy also was to be conducted later Wednesday, police said.
The victim has been identified, but authorities are withholding his name until his next of kin can be notified.
Although the identity of both the shooter and victim are being withheld by police for now, one person who knew the victim is Anthony Colavecci.
At the scene of the crime, Colavecci said the victim was his former roommate “and he saved my life. I slipped in the bathroom and I kept saying I was fine, but he insisted that the ambulance take me to the hospital.”
Colavecci, who lost his apartment in December after a dispute with his landlord and has been homeless since then, said the victim was also without a place to live and had become addicted to drugs in the last few months.
“I keep trying to tell myself I don’t care, but there are people who will miss him and I’m one of them,” Colavecci said.
Pottstown Area Rapid Transit buses were diverted from the Security Plaza transportation hub to the corner of King and Hanover streets for four hours. according to posts on the agency’s Facebook page.
