Original thread: http://www.thefiringline.com:8080/forums/showthread.php?threadid=38756
Update: http://www.goerie.com/newsonly/update/cri/0c1393a8.shtml
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> Back to Previous Page
Man fired gun prior to school incident
Story Created: 09/15/2000 14:17:52
By KEVIN FLOWERS
Staff writer
Seven weeks before Ronald John Neiswonger walked into Strong Vincent High School with a loaded semiautomatic handgun, he fired the same weapon inside a Millcreek convenience store, authorities said.
No one was hurt during the incident, which happened July 6 at the Country Fair store at 2301 Peninsula Drive but was not reported to Millcreek police for another month. Erie County Sheriff Bob Merski said that if his office had known about the July shooting sooner, Neiswonger's concealed weapons permit would have been revoked before Aug. 29.
On that date Neiswonger, 52, brought his holstered, loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun into Strong Vincent, 1330 W. Eighth St. His permit to carry the weapon was revoked shortly afterward.
"If he discharged the weapon and we had gotten a report of it, we would have pulled his license back then, pending the outcome of the police investigation,'' Merski said of the July shooting.
"That's not to say that the Vincent incident would not have happened ... there's nothing to keep people from carrying an unlicensed gun,'' Merski continued. "But we want to make sure people are handling their weapons responsibly and faithfully. If they are not, we revoke their permits.''
Keith McGarvey, president of Country Fair, said store managers erred by not reporting the incident to police more quickly.
"Every one of our employees should know that an incident like this is certainly serious and reportable,'' McGarvey said Monday. "Any firearms in any of our stores that are not carried by an authorized police officer... that is unacceptable.''
Millcreek police Det. Michael Tesore filed charges of reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct against Neiswonger last Friday.
The reckless endangerment charge is a second-degree misdemeanor and the other two are summary charges, Tesore said.
Neiswonger, 536 W. 19th St., second floor, was notified of the charges by mail. He could not be reached for comment Monday.
Neiswonger, father of a Strong Vincent High School student, was arrested Aug. 29 after walking into Strong Vincent with the handgun, which was holstered and loaded. He was apprehended in the school's office, police said.
Neiswonger told police he went to the school that day to talk with someone about his 15-year-old son. Neiswonger said he was told his son did not come to school on Aug. 29.
Erie police Det. Kenneth Merchant charged Neiswonger with one count of carrying a firearm on school property, a first-degree misdemeanor. Neiswonger told Erie police after his arrest in August that he carried the handgun for protection because he and members of his family had been threatened. Neiswonger did not tell police who made those threats.
Although Neiswonger had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, a 1980 state law prohibits anyone except law enforcement officers to bring weapons onto school property. police said.
On July 6, Tesore said, Neiswonger fired the gun at the Country Fair convenience store at 2301 Peninsula Drive. The shooting was reported more than this month's later on Sept. 8 by a Country Fair employee, Tesore said.
"I think that the incident at Strong Vincent kind of left someone at the store with the impression that hey, in light of all this, maybe this kind of carelessness or negligence happened on more than one occasion,'' Tesore said.
A male friend of Neiswonger's was in the store that day, Tesore said, sitting at a dining table. "When Mr. Neiswonger walked in he had the gun holstered and on his person,'' Tesore said.
"There was a gentleman inside the store that knew him, who knew (Neiswonger) carried a gun and this person was interested in the gun since he had just bought the same kind of weapon himself.''
Tesore said that Neiswonger's friend asked Neiswonger to show him the gun. Neiswonger then took the gun out of its holster and removed the clip.
"In the course of putting it back and rising from the table, (Neiswonger) bumped the gun on the table and it discharged,'' Tesore said.
The bullet went through a bench seat and into a nearby wall, Tesore said. Police later removed the bullet.
Asked why the store did not report the shooting sooner, Tesore said: "I'm not sure. I think that maybe because no one was injured at the time, and because it was accidental, the managers there felt it was no harm, no foul.''
Tesore also said the decision not to report the incident was made by store managers. "The corporate offices know about it now ... I don't think they knew about it at the time,'' Tesore said.
A manager at the Peninsula Drive store declined comment when reached by telephone Monday. But McGarvey said store managers failed to follow Country Fair's own company-wide policy demanding that any incident involving a weapon be reported to police and Country Fair's corporate office.
Country Fair operates 72 stores in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. He said all employees are told during training about the company's internal incident reports, forms that are to be filled out if a crime occurs at one of the stores. The forms should also be filled out if someone is injured or if a weapon is shown or used at a Country Fair, McGarvey said.
McGarvey said Country Fair's security manager was told about the shooting in early September. "I think he talked to police about it before he even told me,'' McGarvey said.
McGarvey declined to comment on whether any employees at the Peninsula Drive store were disciplined or fired over the shooting.
But McGarvey did say that the manager in charge when the shooting happened "did not provide an excuse (for not reporting the shooting) that was satisfactory to us.
"We were all shocked when we heard about this happening,'' McGarvey continued. "We have an extremely good record as a company for safety, and something like this, for us, is an extremely rare occurence.''
Neiswonger's arrest warrant for the July shooting says damage to the store was estimated at $200. Tesore said three customers, including Neiswonger and his friend, and five employees were inside the store when Neiswonger's gun went off.
Erie schools Superintendent James Barker said the latest charges filed against Neiswonger "just highlight why we must have zero tolerance when it comes to weapons being brought into any school.
"You never know what hands these weapons will end up in or what kinds of accidents can happen,'' Barker continued. "And accidents are just the kind of thing we're trying to avoid.''
Despite all that has happened, Merski said, Neiswonger is entitled to apply for another gun permit.
"If he chooses to do so, he has that right,'' Merski said. "We would run him through another background check (with Pennsylvania State Police). We would then look at everything that has transpired ... and make the determination as to whether he should have another permit.''
Merski declined to speculate on Neiswonger's chances of getting another permit.
09/19/2000
Times Publishing Company
Copyright © 2000 CyberInk, LP. [/quote]
Update: http://www.goerie.com/newsonly/update/cri/0c1393a8.shtml
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> Back to Previous Page
Man fired gun prior to school incident
Story Created: 09/15/2000 14:17:52
By KEVIN FLOWERS
Staff writer
Seven weeks before Ronald John Neiswonger walked into Strong Vincent High School with a loaded semiautomatic handgun, he fired the same weapon inside a Millcreek convenience store, authorities said.
No one was hurt during the incident, which happened July 6 at the Country Fair store at 2301 Peninsula Drive but was not reported to Millcreek police for another month. Erie County Sheriff Bob Merski said that if his office had known about the July shooting sooner, Neiswonger's concealed weapons permit would have been revoked before Aug. 29.
On that date Neiswonger, 52, brought his holstered, loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun into Strong Vincent, 1330 W. Eighth St. His permit to carry the weapon was revoked shortly afterward.
"If he discharged the weapon and we had gotten a report of it, we would have pulled his license back then, pending the outcome of the police investigation,'' Merski said of the July shooting.
"That's not to say that the Vincent incident would not have happened ... there's nothing to keep people from carrying an unlicensed gun,'' Merski continued. "But we want to make sure people are handling their weapons responsibly and faithfully. If they are not, we revoke their permits.''
Keith McGarvey, president of Country Fair, said store managers erred by not reporting the incident to police more quickly.
"Every one of our employees should know that an incident like this is certainly serious and reportable,'' McGarvey said Monday. "Any firearms in any of our stores that are not carried by an authorized police officer... that is unacceptable.''
Millcreek police Det. Michael Tesore filed charges of reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct against Neiswonger last Friday.
The reckless endangerment charge is a second-degree misdemeanor and the other two are summary charges, Tesore said.
Neiswonger, 536 W. 19th St., second floor, was notified of the charges by mail. He could not be reached for comment Monday.
Neiswonger, father of a Strong Vincent High School student, was arrested Aug. 29 after walking into Strong Vincent with the handgun, which was holstered and loaded. He was apprehended in the school's office, police said.
Neiswonger told police he went to the school that day to talk with someone about his 15-year-old son. Neiswonger said he was told his son did not come to school on Aug. 29.
Erie police Det. Kenneth Merchant charged Neiswonger with one count of carrying a firearm on school property, a first-degree misdemeanor. Neiswonger told Erie police after his arrest in August that he carried the handgun for protection because he and members of his family had been threatened. Neiswonger did not tell police who made those threats.
Although Neiswonger had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, a 1980 state law prohibits anyone except law enforcement officers to bring weapons onto school property. police said.
On July 6, Tesore said, Neiswonger fired the gun at the Country Fair convenience store at 2301 Peninsula Drive. The shooting was reported more than this month's later on Sept. 8 by a Country Fair employee, Tesore said.
"I think that the incident at Strong Vincent kind of left someone at the store with the impression that hey, in light of all this, maybe this kind of carelessness or negligence happened on more than one occasion,'' Tesore said.
A male friend of Neiswonger's was in the store that day, Tesore said, sitting at a dining table. "When Mr. Neiswonger walked in he had the gun holstered and on his person,'' Tesore said.
"There was a gentleman inside the store that knew him, who knew (Neiswonger) carried a gun and this person was interested in the gun since he had just bought the same kind of weapon himself.''
Tesore said that Neiswonger's friend asked Neiswonger to show him the gun. Neiswonger then took the gun out of its holster and removed the clip.
"In the course of putting it back and rising from the table, (Neiswonger) bumped the gun on the table and it discharged,'' Tesore said.
The bullet went through a bench seat and into a nearby wall, Tesore said. Police later removed the bullet.
Asked why the store did not report the shooting sooner, Tesore said: "I'm not sure. I think that maybe because no one was injured at the time, and because it was accidental, the managers there felt it was no harm, no foul.''
Tesore also said the decision not to report the incident was made by store managers. "The corporate offices know about it now ... I don't think they knew about it at the time,'' Tesore said.
A manager at the Peninsula Drive store declined comment when reached by telephone Monday. But McGarvey said store managers failed to follow Country Fair's own company-wide policy demanding that any incident involving a weapon be reported to police and Country Fair's corporate office.
Country Fair operates 72 stores in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. He said all employees are told during training about the company's internal incident reports, forms that are to be filled out if a crime occurs at one of the stores. The forms should also be filled out if someone is injured or if a weapon is shown or used at a Country Fair, McGarvey said.
McGarvey said Country Fair's security manager was told about the shooting in early September. "I think he talked to police about it before he even told me,'' McGarvey said.
McGarvey declined to comment on whether any employees at the Peninsula Drive store were disciplined or fired over the shooting.
But McGarvey did say that the manager in charge when the shooting happened "did not provide an excuse (for not reporting the shooting) that was satisfactory to us.
"We were all shocked when we heard about this happening,'' McGarvey continued. "We have an extremely good record as a company for safety, and something like this, for us, is an extremely rare occurence.''
Neiswonger's arrest warrant for the July shooting says damage to the store was estimated at $200. Tesore said three customers, including Neiswonger and his friend, and five employees were inside the store when Neiswonger's gun went off.
Erie schools Superintendent James Barker said the latest charges filed against Neiswonger "just highlight why we must have zero tolerance when it comes to weapons being brought into any school.
"You never know what hands these weapons will end up in or what kinds of accidents can happen,'' Barker continued. "And accidents are just the kind of thing we're trying to avoid.''
Despite all that has happened, Merski said, Neiswonger is entitled to apply for another gun permit.
"If he chooses to do so, he has that right,'' Merski said. "We would run him through another background check (with Pennsylvania State Police). We would then look at everything that has transpired ... and make the determination as to whether he should have another permit.''
Merski declined to speculate on Neiswonger's chances of getting another permit.
09/19/2000
Times Publishing Company
Copyright © 2000 CyberInk, LP. [/quote]
