ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A man accused of fatally shooting a 1-year-old and his grandmother last week turned himself in to authorities Thursday night, hours after they released his name and picture to the public.
Gabriel Cartagena, 43, of Allentown, surrendered around 8:45 p.m. at the Lehigh County Jail “without incident,” Police Chief Charles Roca said in a news release.
“It was through the assistance of the community and law enforcement partners that created an environment where Cartagena was moved to turn himself in,” Roca said in a statement.
He noted it happened less than five hours after Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan at a news conference declared Cartagena a wanted man who was "armed and dangerous."
“The Allentown Police Department is grateful for the efforts taken in this case by our community in providing information to law enforcement regarding this investigation,” Roca said just before 10:15 p.m. “The value of the information provided by the community reflects a positive outcome that works to help heal the harm caused by Cartagena.
“I want to also express my gratitude to our law enforcement partners who without hesitation worked to bring Cartagena to justice.”
Ada Ortiz, 44, and her grandson, Sebastian Serrano, both of Allentown, were found last Friday with multiple gunshot wounds in the living room of a house in the 100 block of Chestnut Street, Holihan said Thursday afternoon.
Police allege Cartagena broke into the home around 8:40 p.m. and shot Ortiz and Sebastian multiple times in the living room.
Cartagena then pointed his semiautomatic pistol at a 7-year-old boy before his grandfather Leandro Ortiz stepped in the way, according to the criminal complaint filed against Cartagena.
Leandro Ortiz — Ada's husband — was shot in the upper chest but is expected to survive, Holihan said. He was found wounded in the kitchen.
Holihan said there was no indication the victims knew the gunman, who fled.
A GoFundMe page set up to help pay for the victim’s funerals says Ada Oritz was a mother of five.
'Armed and dangerous'
Holihan said during the news conference that authorities believed Cartagena was still in the Lehigh Valley.
He urged anyone with information about Cartagena or his location to “call 911 immediately and not approach him or not attempt to apprehend him on their own.”
An Allentown police captain declined Tuesday to answer any questions about the shooting and said there does not appear to be any ongoing danger to the general public; but Holihan said Cartagena should be “considered armed and dangerous.”
“I wouldn't say there’s no danger to the public,” Holihan said Thursday. “I would say … a man who shot and killed a grandmother and a 1-year-old child is a danger to the public.”
Roca had said in the afternoon his department would “devote all our resources to this case to assist the district attorney’s office” and explained APD’s and Holihan’s conflicting messages to residents.
When police said this week there was no threat related to the shootings, “My understanding was that there was no danger to the public at that time,” Roca said.
“Obviously, if this individual was out there — and as DA Holihan says, there's charges for him — my recommendation is that he turn himself into local authorities. That would be the best course of action,” Roca said in the hours before Cartagena surrendered.
Cartagena is facing two felony counts each of criminal homicide, attempted homicide and aggravated assault; and single counts of burglary, felon not to possess firearms, and carrying a firearm without a license, Holihan said.
Night of gunfire
Details of the search for a suspect and relationship between the victims came six days after the killings and two other unrelated shootings that shook the city.
While authorities released the criminal complaint that specified charges against Cartagena, the affidavit of probable cause containing further details remains under seal due to the contents and "will not be made available for public inspection," Holihan said at the news conference.
Holihan said community input and information has been key to the investigation so far.
"The community spoke up more on this case than we have in cases in the past," he said. "We had a lot of support, a lot of input, a lot of assistance. Some of that has proved vital in leading to this arrest warrant."
The fatal shooting was one of three shootings in Allentown in a roughly six-hour span from Friday night into early Saturday morning.
Shortly after reaching the scene of the shooting on Chestnut Street on Friday night, police were called to reports of gunfire about four blocks north, near Ridge Avenue and West Gordon Street.
There, officers found a man and a woman with serious gunshot wounds, but both were expected to survive, police said.
Dimitrius Bashir Campbell, 23, of Allentown, was arrested the next day in connection with the shooting and charged with nine felonies, including attempted homicide and aggravated assault, according to Lehigh County court documents.
Police were called around 2:30 a.m. Saturday to a third shooting in less than six hours. Three people were shot in the 1600 block of Hanover Avenue; all are expected to survive, police said.
Authorities have said they do not believe the three shootings are connected, but until Thursday’s news conference, they’d released little other information.
Police Capt. Daniel Gross said Tuesday residents were not in any “ongoing danger” related to the three shootings, which he called “isolated events.”
Civic, political and religious leaders gathered in Allentown on Sunday afternoon to call for action to end gun violence.
