Chief: One man hurt in West York shootout

One man was hurt during a shootout in West York, and borough detectives are working with York City Police to identify the shooters, according to West York Police Chief Matt Millsaps.

"They were spraying bullets in both directions," he said.

It happened about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, in the first block of South Dewey Street in the borough, police said.

Stephen Gerhardt, 19, of North York, was shot at least once in the torso, according to Millsaps.

"Our officers found him on scene, collapsed," the chief said, adding Gerhardt was in Rampart Alley, just off Dewey Street.

The victim was taken to York Hospital, police said.

"We spoke to him prior to him going into surgery," Millsaps said. "Our investigators' impression was ... hospital staff seemed to believe he was going to live."

Millsaps said at least two people were firing guns at each other, and a number of others were in the area at the time.

"What we've gathered so far is that there is evidence there were multiple people shooting, and several people were seen fleeing the scene," he said. "We have evidence to suggest at least 10 shots were fired."

The chief said Gerhardt was the only person struck, "to our knowledge."

Motive unknown: West York detectives are working with York City detectives to find answers, according to Millsaps.

"We're still investigating to determine exactly what led to this shootout," he said.

And although there's speculation at this point, police are still piecing together what happened, he said.

"There's information to suggest that people involved in this are from the city," Millsaps said.

The shootout happened a block from the York City line.

He said his detectives will be able to "tap into the tremendous amount of intelligence, the tremendous amount of knowledge" city investigators have accumulated, and both departments will be sharing that information.

"Chief (Troy) Bankert was gracious enough to extend any manner of help we requested," Millsaps said. "They have their finger on the pulse, related to what's going on with violent crime in the city."

York City patrol officers also assisted West York Police at the scene of the shootout, primarily helping with crowd control, according to Millsaps.

The York County Forensic Unit is also assisting, the chief said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call West York Police at 717-854-1975. Millsaps said if no one answers at the station, people should call 911.

— Reach Liz Evans Scolforo at levans@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @LizScolforoYD.