EFFORT, Pa. — Gunshots rang out in a neighborhood in the Poconos Sunday night, leaving one teenager dead.
State police are calling it a death and armed robbery investigation in what they believe was a prearranged meeting for a drug deal that turned deadly.
A 17-year-old was shot, a 15-year-old was shot and killed, leaving a neighborhood in the Poconos shaken up and saddened.
During the day, this looks like a pretty easy-going neighborhood near Effort. The streets were still, with leaves on the ground, but shattered glass tells a different story.
"I was really shocked, I was scared," Kathleen Shorkey said. "My dog was home alone by himself, so I was really worried about him because I didn't know what was happening at the time."
That's what Kathleen Shorkey had to say about her Sunday night after state police say Aiden Paiz, 15 of Kunkletown, was shot and killed around 7:30 p.m. near Squirrelwood Court and Sunset Lane in Polk Township.
Neighbors who knew the victim can't believe it:
"This is a child! He's 15 years old. He's not going to graduate. He's not going to get married. He's not going to swim in my pool next year," said Elaine Caruso through tears.
Investigators are calling it an armed robbery that they believe happened after a drug deal went bad in this part of the Poconos.
"What I saw was a boy who spent a lot of time at home, who was deeply rooted in his family, and didn't get caught up in the garbage that goes around up here. In fact, we have troublemakers in the neighborhood. He pointed them out to me, and they were his age. He would point them out to me and say, 'I wouldn't even hang with them,'" Caruso added.
People we spoke with who live in the neighborhood say usually, it's a pretty quiet development, but others who live close to the cul-de-sac who did not want to appear on camera say often, there are cars parked here after hours.
"It saddens me that a young person was killed. I feel bad for the family anytime, especially around the holidays and especially Thanksgiving. That has a special meaning to me and a lot of people," Shorkey said.
According to investigators, a 17-year-old was also shot in the armed robbery, and that teen is in stable condition, according to state police.