ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A jury found a man guilty of shooting into a crowd in Allentown, wounding four people.
Axel Suarez Vidal, 25, of Allentown, was convicted Thursday night of charges including attempted homicide, three counts of aggravated assault –causing serious bodily injury, and seven counts of recklessly endangering another person, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
The DA’s office said Suarez Vidal faces a possible sentence of 44 to 88 years in state prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 8, according to the news release.
Suarez Vidal’s bail was revoked and he remains in Lehigh County Jail, the DA’s office said.
Shortly before 7 p.m. Feb. 20, 2024, Allentown Police were called to the 1800 block of West Turner Street for a shooting with multiple victims, according to the DA’s office.
The DA’s office said one victim had been taken to the hospital in a personal vehicle before police arrived, while the other victims walked to a nearby hospital.
Three women and one man were shot; they all survived their injuries, the DA’s office said.
According to the DA’s office, one of the women was in critical condition until she recovered from her injuries.
The DA’s office said several of the victims were able to identify the man who shot them as Suarez Vidal.
The shooting happened after two women, including one who had an intimate relationship with Vidal, were in a fight over text messages, the DA’s office said.
Suarez Vidal got into an argument with one of the shooting victims during the fight between the two women, according to the news release.
The DA’s office said he then pulled out a gun and began shooting into the crowd.
After the shooting, Suarez Vidal fled to Delaware and surrendered to police the next day, according to the DA’s office.
Authorities said the gun used in the shooting was never recovered.