On May 30, 2023, around 10 p.m. at 44 N 5th Street on Lebanon, PA’s north side, a shooting took place that left three people dead and a fourth hospitalized, all while sending the town into a state of shock.

The three dead victims were 19-year-old Joshua Lugo-Pérez, 8-year-old Jesus Perez-Salome, and 9-year-old Sebastian-Salome. The fourth, 33-year-old Luis Cancel, was reportedly injured after being struck by a stray bullet that entered his neighboring house.

In the aftermath of the triple homicide, GoFundMe pages have been set up to pay for  Lugo-Pérez’s memorial service and to transport Jesus and Sebastian back to their hometown of Villalba, Puerto Rico, to be laid to rest. As of June 9, 2023, Lugo-Pérez’s has received over $5,500 in donations and Jesus and Sebastian’s is not longer accepting donations, having raised more than $15,000.

“As a family we are more than grateful with the help received from people around the country. We didn’t expect to receive so much help. It’s a painful process but thanks to you we will be able to give these two angels the transportation and memorial service that they deserve,” wrote organizer Julissa Salome in an update on Jesus and Sebastian’s page.

As for the perpetrators, the first two were taken into custody on June 1. Twenty-two-year-old Alex Torres-Santos and 16-year-old James Fernandez-Reyes initially fled when confronted by law enforcement, but were later apprehended. A search of the residence they fled from found multiple firearms.

A third perpetrator, 27-year-old Ivan Claudio-Rosero, was located in North Philadelphia and arrested on June 7. His white BMW was traced to the area near where his girlfriend, Tiffany Koziara, lived in Kensington. She is also facing a number of charges related to the case and is being held on a $225,000 bond. 

On June 2, Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf announced that she would seek the death penalty for Torres-Santos.

“In my 14 years as a Lebanon County prosecutor and in my nearly four years as the District Attorney, we have not filed a Death Penalty Notice in any case,” Graf said in a press release as quoted by Fox 43. “No other murder committed during my time as the D.A. has risen to the specific legal standard necessary to seek death for the killer. This case meets that standard.”

Fernandez-Reyes, who is minor, will be charged as an adult in the case. He, Torres-Santos and Claudio-Rosero are being held without bond.

"I wanted to come in this morning and celebrate, 'We got him,'” said Lebanon Mayor Sherry Capello in a press conference earlier this week, “but I can't because children and one teenager are dead. Their mothers will never be able to hold them again. This was a senseless act of violence, and we continue to pray for the families of the victims and also for the broader Lebanon community that is still reeling from the shock of this horrific crime."