Only 1 Suspect Involved In Triple Shooting, Bensalem Police Conclude

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —Authorities have closed their case on a triple shooting on Halloween night that killed a township teenager.

The Bensalem Township Police Department and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office have concluded their investigation into the death of Peter Romano and the shooting of two other male teenagers on Oct. 31 at the intersection of Bristol Pike and Woodbine Avenue, authorities said.

After a thorough investigation, Bensalem Police said they found no evidence that anyone other than Sean Hughes was involved in the shooting and homicide in Bensalem Township last Halloween night.

Romano, a 14-year-old student at Snyder Middle School and a Bensalem resident, was shot in the chest and was pronounced dead upon arrival, police said.

During the investigation, dozens of witness interviews were conducted, and several search warrants were prepared, approved, and executed.

The prime suspect, Hughes, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a police pursuit in Marysville, Ohio, on Nov. 2. Hughes killed himself with a Sig Sauer handgun. Ballistic testing was performed on that handgun.

Fired cartridges were recovered at the shooting scene and were identified as being fired from the same Sig Sauer handgun. Two bullets were also recovered and identified as being fired from the Sig Sauer handgun, including the bullet retrieved from Romano during his autopsy.

The handgun recovered from Ohio was also processed for DNA evidence, and testing concluded that Sean Hughes’s DNA was found on the trigger, frame/receiver, slide, sights, and magazine of the handgun.

A cell phone belonging to Hughes was analyzed, and a forensic examination was performed to include cell phone records, text messages, and social media applications.

There were no messages or any other communications that showed that anyone assisted, conspired, or participated in the shooting other than Sean Hughes.

Hughes admitted to a few people that he was responsible for the shooting after the crime was committed. This was also confirmed during subsequent interviews.

He then fled to Ohio after the shooting and was aided by a subject named Joshua Marquez. Hughes communicated via text message with Marquez after the shooting.

Joshua Marquez was apprehended with Hughes after the police pursuit, and he was charged with Obstructing Justice by the Marysville Police Department for aiding Sean Hughes during his time in Ohio after the homicide.

The investigation revealed that Hughes stole the Sig Sauer handgun from an apartment in Philadelphia.

The original owner, Kenrick R. Winslow, gave the Sig Sauer to one of the residents sometime in 2017 or 2018.

Winslow was charged with PACC 6111(c) Illegal Transfer of Firearm, a Misdemeanor of the second degree. District Justice Christopher O’Neill arraigned Winslow and was released on his recognizance on $15,000 bail.

Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation should contact the Bensalem Township Police Department.

The Bensalem Township Police Department and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office would like to offer their condolences to the Romano family and the families of the two other shooting victims.

The Bensalem Township Police Department, Bucks County Detectives, and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office investigated this case. Deputy District Attorney Thomas Gannon was the assigned Prosecutor.