Saint Clair Search Suspects Believed to be Out of the Area

The subjects of a day-long manhunt in the Saint Clair area Sunday are believed to be out of the area.

Early Monday morning, Saint Clair Area School District confirmed to parents via email that Pennsylvania State Police had shut down its local command center established to search for two suspects in connection with an incident.

Police are looking for two suspects – 17-year-old Jeremiah Begley and another unnamed juvenile male – who they say were in a vehicle with two others. During a pursuit that started in Cumberland County early Sunday afternoon and ended at the Coal Creek Shopping Center in Saint Clair, one of the four suspects allegedly shot at police, striking a patrol vehicle that was in pursuit of them.

The chase began after police had learned that someone in that vehicle was pointing a pistol at motorists on Interstate 81 in Cumberland County. Eventually, the getaway vehicle turned off at the Frackville exit and made its way to Saint Clair, where it eventually became disabled near Walmart.

Two suspects were apprehended. Begley and the other unnamed suspect reportedly fled on foot into the Walmart. They reportedly stole clothes to alter their appearance and then left the store through an emergency exit.

At about 2 p.m., an area dragnet was commenced by police, on the ground and in the air. Numerous Schuylkill County departments aided State Police in the search for the two suspects on the lam. A State Police helicopter circled the Saint Clair area well into Sunday night.

Some online questioned whether Saint Clair Area School District would open for classes on Monday. Superintendent Tom McLaughlin tells The Canary that the district waited for confirmation on Monday morning that State Police believed the suspects were no longer in the area.

McLaughlin says the school has an additional security guard on duty today. Additionally, a Saint Clair Police officer was stationed at each entrance to the school Monday morning as a precaution.

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