A Washington County man has been accused of opening fire next to children playing in the street

Washington, Pennsylvania (KDKA) – Police are looking for a man from Washington County who, they say, is “armed and dangerous.”

Police said he shot several times near the playground when dozens of children were playing outside.

“I heard boom, boom, boom, boom, boom and six or seven of them, looked out the window and heard the car squeak in the woods,” said Rebecca Jankowski.

Jankowski and her husband Shane live in the Lincoln Terrace apartment complex in the house opposite the spot where the shooting took place on Tuesday afternoon.

“The whole passenger door was torn off,” Shane said.

“We had no idea what was going on,” Rebecca said.

Investigators said they were looking for Martes Thomas Jr. Police said Thomas fired at least 10 shots from a pistol at two people. They were not injured, but it happened around 4:45 pm near the playground along Forest Avenue. Neighbors said children from the after-school program at the Lemoine Community Center were playing outside.

“Kids were still everywhere,” said one neighbor. “I haven’t seen a single teenager. Everyone was young. “

When police arrived at the scene, they found two wrecked cars in which no one was present. Police said the surveillance video showed Thomas crashing his car into another car with two people. He was then seen driving towards Washington and Jefferson College.

Thomas’ car broke down at the intersection of Penn and East Chestnut streets, police said. The video shows him and another man getting out of the car and running into the Girl’s Laundry.

Some neighbors have said they are ready to leave the area.

“It really sucks because right now we don’t feel safe in our house,” Rebecca said.

Investigators said Thomas could face additional charges. They also said they planned to make other arrests.

If you have any information, call 911 Washington County or the Washington Police Department.