At least 3 injured in Vandergrift bar shooting, according to dispatcher

At least three people were injured in a shooting early Sunday at a Vandergrift bar, according to a Westmoreland County Emergency Management dispatcher.

Officers were called to the scene at Anthony’s Bar, 323 Longfellow St., at about 12:10 a.m., the dispatcher confirmed.

Vandergrift Patrolman Joe Gray confirmed that borough Police Chief Joe Caporali was at the scene overnight. Gray said the chief was unavailable for comment until Monday morning and declined early Sunday to provide details about the incident.

“It’s an ongoing and very fluid investigation,” Gray said.

Vandergrift resident Mathew Sylves lives two doors down from Anthony’s and said he was roused out of bed around midnight Saturday by the sound of three “pops.”

“I’m an avid gun user, so I knew right away that those were gunshots,” Sylves said Sunday.

Sylves said he peered from his window and witnessed people running out of the bar, hopping into cars and “peeling” out.

After getting dressed, Sylves said he ventured to his front door where he heard two more shots and saw an ambulance at the scene and heard a man report that he had been shot at.

“I was up until 3 a.m. until the scene was cleared,” Sylves said. “I’m not really surprised — it was bound to happen — a lot of the younger generation has been getting in fights.”

Kenny Visnic, 56, who lives in an apartment at the rear of the bar, told TribLive he was sleeping at the time and wasn’t wakened by the incident.

“I can’t believe it,” he said when he saw police caution tape and learned of the shooting Sunday morning, noting he’d been in the establishment Saturday night.

“It’s a really nice bar,” he said, indicating it normally is closed Sundays. “I was shocked. There’s been some disputes and arguments, of course; that’s going to happen anywhere. But I never would have imagined something like this.”