Man shot outside Woodview Terrace apartment building
Alyssa Choiniere | Herald-Standard
In this July 26 file photo, state police talk to a woman outside Woodview Terrace in North Union Township where a man was fatally shot at about 11 a.m. Toney R. Jones, 22, was soon charged in the death of 23-year-old Jarod J. Ashburn.
Alyssa Choiniere | Herald-Standard
State police investigate a fatal shooting at Woodview Terrace Thursday, where a man was fatally shot outside an apartment building just after 11 a.m. One suspect was taken into custody.
Alyssa Choiniere | Herald-Standard
A state police forensics unit arrives on the scene of a fatal shooting Thursday where a man was killed outside an apartment building just after 11 a.m. One suspect is in custody.
One man is dead and a suspect is in custody after a shooting at a North Union Township housing development Thursday morning.
State police said Toney Robert Jones, 22, fired one round at Jarod Jamon Ashburn, 23, wounding him in the chest just after 11 a.m. outside the 400 building of Woodview Terrace. Ashburn was found on the ground, then taken to Uniontown Hospital by Fayette EMS where he was pronounced dead. Jones was found in an apartment and taken into custody.
Friends and neighbors of the victim described him as “a cool guy” who typically stayed to himself, trying to get his life on track. They said he had a young child.
Stephen Richardson lived in the building and knew the victim for about two years. He said he heard a commotion before state troopers evacuated his building.
“I heard a lot of banging, doors slamming, people yelling,” he said. “About five minutes later, state troopers came to my door saying something really bad happened.”
He shook his head, saying he was in shock. They had just spoken the night before, he said.
“It’s a hell of a loss. It’s just sad,” he said. “I can vouch for him that he was a good guy. Only the good die young, I guess.”
He said the alleged shooter began staying at an apartment next door to him about three weeks ago. He did not know him personally.
Autumn Saluga was a childhood friend of the victim, and later dated him. She said she has good memories of him from Lafayette Elementary School. When they moved into the same housing development, she said they would often talk in passing, and he would ask her about her child.
“He was trying to get his life together,” she said. “He was just trying to get on the right path.”
Saluga said they spoke the night before he was killed, outside the building where he died just a few hours later.
“It’s really freaking sad. There’s not much you can feel, you know? Just shock,” she said.
Residents who lived in the housing development for years said they have never seen major crimes occur. Several said they moved to Woodview Terrace from other area housing developments, expecting it to be safer. Crime has increased within the last year, they said.
The housing development was on lockdown for about three hours while police investigated. At about 2:30 p.m., state police allowed residents into their apartments with an escort.
A woman outside shortly after the shooting cried, saying the shooter was her brother and they just moved from New York. A state police trooper calmed her as she sat on the sidewalk, then talked to her behind a shed.
A woman who lives inside, Jackie, called her aunt to say she was stuck in her apartment with her 2-year-old daughter and could see armed police surrounding one of the buildings at about 1 p.m. She asked to be identified only by her first name during a phone call from her apartment. Her aunt arrived at about 12:30 p.m. to pick them up for a doctor’s appointment. She was forced to wait beyond the crime scene tape that precluded residents from entering or exiting.
State Police Lt. Steve Dowlin said the police presence was a precaution, and there was no standoff with the suspect.
“We took the suspect into custody without incident,” he said.
Jackie said her daughter wasn’t fearful because she didn’t know what happened.
“She’s OK. She doesn’t really understand.”
A young woman cried outside, saying she knew both the victim and the shooter. She tearfully asked if she could go to her apartment to get diapers for her baby. Another woman arrived in a panic, saying she needed to go inside to get her children, who were home alone.
Dowlin told residents as the scene was reopened the lockdown was necessary for safety and to complete a proper investigation.
Police said the shooting was captured on surveillance footage and witnessed by multiple people. Anyone with information is asked to call state police in Uniontown at (724) 439-7111 or Fayette County Crime Stoppers at (724) 320-2042.
On Monday night, an 18-year-old man was shot on Carlisle Street in Uniontown less than a mile from Woodview Terrace. His injuries were not life-threatening.