Aug 26, 2015 2 min read

A South Strabane Township man faces a charge of recklessly endangering another person after he allegedly fired a shot from a semi-automatic rifle that almost hit a customer at a driving range Sunday.

Mark Evans, 31, of 1340 Hudak Hill Road, was charged Monday by township police in connection with the incident that occurred just after 5 p.m. the previous day.

Police were called to Pomykala’s Driving Range, 1250 Locust Ave., for a report of shots fired. Police were told a man at the range indicated a “bullet went whizzing by his head.”

When police arrived, an employee told them she and patrons heard shots being fired. She also saw one of the customers grab his ear. He told the employee he could feel the round go past his ear.

The employee indicated based on past incidents, she believed the gunfire was coming from a nearby residence and directed officers to a yellow brick house on Hudak Hill. Police said they went to the residence and saw an open rifle case and several boxes of .22-caliber ammunition on a table. The two officers also spotted a target attached to a wooden post with no backstop that was about 30 yards from the table.

Police went to the front door and talked with Evans and asked him if he was shooting and what he was shooting. He reportedly told Officer Andrea Steiner he was shooting “some 22.” When the officer told him about the complaint, she said Evans was cooperative and apologetic, according to court documents. Police said he was shooting uphill in the direction of the driving range without a sufficient backstop. Steiner told Evans he would be charged because of the negligent manner in which he was shooting.

A preliminary hearing will be scheduled before District Judge Jay Weller.