A man is accused of firing a gun multiple times in an upscale Middletown Township apartment complex.
The shooting happened just past midnight on Tuesday at the Harper’s Crossing complex off Township Line Road in the township’s Langhorne section. Officers were dispatched to Building Five for several reports of gunfire. While en-route, 9-1-1 dispatchers alerted officers that they could hear shots being fired while on the phone with residents, according to court papers.
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Arriving at the apartments, officers found a 55-year-old Middletown Township man , “acting in an intoxicated manor.” He was discovered to have a concealed 9mm handgun in his belt line behind his back, police said.
The gun was secured by patrol officers. It was discovered to have rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. Several 9mm shell casings were on the second-floor landing where the 55-year-old man was located, police said.
The 55-year-old man is alleged to have told officers he was speaking with his ex-wife when she started shooting at him in his apartment. He stated he shot back and watched his ex-wife fall from the apartment.
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Police said they checked the apartment and found no one else.
The 55-year-old man later said a man had taken his 17-year-old daughter hostage at gunpoint and closed the door. He stated he started shooting at the door until it opened and then he stopped, further adding he didn’t know the whereabouts of the man or what happened to his daughter, police said.
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In court papers, police did not note any evidence of either incident happening.
A detective wrote in an affidavit of probable cause that seven spent shell casings from a 9mm handgun were found at the scene. Bullet fragments were also collected, police said.
Rounds alleged to be fired by the 55-year-old man ended up in his apartment and the occupied building. At least one round went through the building and toward the direction of the parking lot and common area, police said.
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“[The 55-year-old man’s] actions placed the residents of Harper’s Crossing and community at great risk of serious bodily harm or death,” police said.
The 55-year-old man was arraigned by on-call District Judge Daniel Baranoski on Tuesday on charges of discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, possession of an instrument of crime with intent, reckless endangerment, and disorderly conduct. He was jailed in lieu of 10 percent of $50,000 bail.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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