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Police arrest man in Whitehall Twp. parking lot shooting

District Attorney Jim Martin and Whitehall Township Police Chief Michael Marks announced an arrest Sunday in the shooting in the Walmart parking lot that left one dead.

Edward Joel Rosario-Jimenez, 23, of Whitehall, is charged with criminal homicide, attempted criminal homicide and aggravated assault; all felonies of the first degree; and firearm not to be carried without a license, a felony of the third degree. Rosario-Jimenez was charged early Sunday.

At 6:55 p.m. Friday, Whitehall Township police were called for a report of shots fired in the Walmart parking lot in the 2600 block of MacArthur Road. Police found two victims near a parked vehicle with the engine still running in the parking lot.

Both victims were suffering gunshot wounds, one later died from those injuries and a second is receiving medical treatment. The Lehigh County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Nicolette Law, 20, of Allentown.

This death is being investigated by the Whitehall Township Police Department, the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force, the District Attorney of Lehigh County and the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office.

Investigators were able to obtain and review video surveillance footage from the Walmart store that showed the victim’s vehicle arriving and parking in an area of the merchandise pick up lot. Within a few minutes, a black Toyota sport utility vehicle entered and parked directly in front of the victim’s vehicle.

Several victims were interviewed by police. One witness told police she had gone to the Walmart parking lot to pick up her child who is also the child of one of the shooting victims.

The witness told police she arrived in the Toyota with Rosario-Jimenez and two other people and that Rosario-Jimenez got into an argument with one of the victims.

The witness told police she heard gunshots and left in the Toyota, but Rosario-Jimenez remained in the parking lot.

Another witness told police they saw Rosario-Jimenez fire several gunshots at the victims.

Police found a handgun hidden in a snowbank adjacent to where the shooting occurred.

According to the Lehigh County Coroner’s office, Law was pronounced dead on Friday at 7:40 p.m. at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest.

The cause of death is gunshot wounds to the body. The manner of death is homicide. An autopsy will be performed on Monday.