DONORA, Pa. -- State police and the federal
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are getting involved in what local police are calling a violent feud between Donora and Monessen teens.
"It's been real dangerous," said Monessen Police Chief Mark Gibson. "The youth -- they're just using guns, where before they had fights."
Video: 
Watch Ari Hait's Report Two teenagers were hit when at least 30 gunshots were fired near Billy T's bar on Knox Avenue in Monessen on Jan. 20. It was just one of several violent incidents in what police believe is an escalating situation.
Earlier this month, a 17-year-old Monessen boy was charged with attempted homicide and possession of firearms by a minor in connection with the March 8 shooting of Dejuan Antone, of Donora.
Police said they think the same boy was a target in the Jan. 20 shooting, which happened in the same area where the 20-year-old Antone was shot.
The two communities are just across the Monongahela River from each other in Washington and Westmoreland counties, separated by the Donora-Monessen Bridge.
"You really don't feel safe going anywhere," said Irving Tartt, of Donora. "There's too much of it. You need to put a handle on it."
Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck and Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani met with members of the Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney's Office and local, federal and state law enforcement last week. They decided that state police would increase patrols in Monessen and Donora, and ATF agents would help track down the guns being used in crimes there.
"We want to stop this now and make certain it doesn't get worse than it already has," Peck said. "There hasn't been a death, fortunately. But obviously with this type of violence, we're probably not far from someone getting killed."
There's no official starting date for the new patrols, but WTAE Channel 4's Ari Hait reported that police hope it will be within the next week or so.
"No one knows where these bullets are going to land," said John Conger, of Donora. "So far, nobody's been killed. But sooner or later, you know that something's going to happen bad."
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