A man is dead after a shooting on a street in Altoona’s East End on Thursday afternoon.

Blair County 911 dispatched police and emergency personnel to the alley between Fourth and Third avenues at Second Street, adjacent to Bethany Lutheran Church, about 5:30 p.m. Thurs­day for a report of a shooting.

Witnesses at the scene said the man was shot in the neck, and Blair County Coroner Patricia Ross confirmed a few hours later that he had died from his wound. His identity was not immediately released.

Witnesses said they heard a “pop” or a “bang” before the sound of screeching tires. They then looked to see a man lying on the pavement as a blue-colored car sped away, down the alley.

Tina Barton, 38, lives across the street on the 200 block of Fourth Avenue and was up-stairs in her home when she heard some commotion and tires screeching. She said she looked out from an upstairs window, which overlooks the parking lot of Bethany Luth­eran and the alley, and saw a man standing and talking to someone in a blue car.

Barton said she assumed they knew each other, so she went back to cleaning.

“Then we heard a pop, and I looked out the window and the car was heading up the alley and the guy was laying face down,” Barton said.

Barton ran over to see if she could help and retrieved a towel from her home as the man was attended to while an ambulance was en route.

Tevin Pulcine, 23, was at Jefferson Park, which sits catty-corner to the church parking lot, with his mother and nieces and nephews when he heard the gunshot. He told the kids to get inside and rushed across the street, along with several other people, including a woman he believed was a nurse.

“His neck was pretty bad,” said Pulcine, who took off his shirt so it could be used to try to stop the bleeding.

“There was one shot,” said 25-year-old Mason Ingram, who was across the street at the time of the shooting. “I didn’t think much of it until I heard tires squeal and then I put two and two together.”

Witnesses said a blue car was seen pulling away after a single a gunshot was heard, and police were on the lookout for a blue-colored Ford Fusion with front end damage after the shooting.

Graham Spencer was across the street before the shooting and said he saw the man, who he said looked to be in his 60s, standing by the blue car. Spencer then heard a “bang” before seeing the car drive off while the man laid on the asphalt.

The 22-year-old said he knows his cars and pegged the Ford Fusion as an 2008 or 2009 model.

“I’m shook up by this,” Spencer said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Police confirmed the victim was a 58-year-old man.

Altoona police Sgt. Matthew Plummer said late Thursday night that the suspects were still at large and the shooting was believed to be drug-related. Detectives and Altoona police patrol officers were working to apprehend those involved, Plummer added.

The name of the victim will be released once his family was notified, Plum­mer said.

Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7458.