HAZLETON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Hazleton City Police are searching for a man they say pistol-whipped a pregnant woman in the middle of a street, then dragged her inside an apartment.
Police closed off a two-block area near Alter and Second Streets just before noon as they searched for the armed suspect.
Police say it started as a domestic incident and escalated to the pistol-whipping of the woman.
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She suffered serious injuries and was rushed by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hazleton, where she is undergoing treatment.
The search is on for a man Hazleton Police say pistol whipped a woman, and then fled with the gun.
The I-team's Andy Mehalshick reported live from the scene shortly after the attack.
The victim suffered facial injures and is being treated at the hospital.
The suspect, who has not yet been identified by police, remains on the loose at this hour.
Hazleton Police converged on the area of Alter and Second streets in Hazleton just after 11:00 a.m. Friday morning.
Police received a call about an assault on a woman.
"Right now we're investigating a domestic incident where a woman was allegedly pistol whipped, hit in the face with a handgun. The suspect fled upon the officers' arrival and we are still out there pursuing him. The female is at the hospital receiving medical treatment at this time," explained Chief Brian Schoonmaker, Hazleton Police.
Police searched for the suspect in and around buildings in a neighborhood in the city's northside.
Mehalshick asked, "Did it happen in the street, supposedly he drug her back into the building?"
"Yeah, that's what we're being told by the witnesses, and we're trying to pull additional video sources now," responded Chief Schoonmaker.
"And that's scary, it's really scary especially a pregnant woman like that, I couldn't even imagine I couldn't even imagine," said Casey Breznak, Hazleton.
Casey Breznak runs a notary service a block from where the attack took place, she witnessed the commotion.
"They were coming out with their guns and stuff like that. I came out to see what was going on. They said that some girl got hurt or something like that," said Breznak.
The manhunt is ongoing.
