Crime & Safety

Second Cranberry Homeowner Says Bullets Shot at New Years Eve Party Landed Near His Feet

Jonell Hart, whose home was one of two struck by bullets, says a slug also went through the armchair where he normally sits.

Another Cranberry resident whose home was hit by bullets shot off during a New Year’s Eve party in his neighborhood said one of the stray slugs landed right near his feet.

“The ball drops at midnight and a couple seconds later there was debris falling around the house,” Jonell Hart said.

Hart’s home was one of at least two homes in the Fernway plan hit by bullets just after midnight on New Year’s Eve. There were no injuries in the incident, which Cranberry Police continue to investigate.

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After police interviewed partygoers at the Robinhood Drive house where the shots were fired, Sgt. Chuck Mascellino said he expects charges to be filed next week. The guns were shot at the ground and in the air during the celebration, he said.

Some of the bullets went through the walls and windows of Hart’s home on Sherwood Drive and Renee Piroth’s home on Lincolnshire Drive.

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Hart, whose home sits in front of the Robinhood Drive house where the party was taking place, said one of the bullets came through the fence of his backyard, entered a wall in his home and went through head rest of his favorite chair before exiting out the front door.

Another slug came down vertically through the roof and ceiling and dropped between his feet, Hart said.

“I didn’t even realize it came through the ceiling at first,” he said. “It all happened so quick.”

Once they realized bullets were coming through the house, Hart said he and his girlfriend got down on their hands and knees crawled down the hallway to call police. Two children also live in the home and Hart was thankful neither was there when the bullets started flying.

“It just happened the kids were out other places and they weren’t here,” he said.

At first understanding about the incident—which he called negligent, but not a necessarily a criminal act—Hart said he slowly is becoming angered as he studies the path the bullets took through his home, including the chair where he often sits.

He added he has heard guns fired at the Robinhood Drive home before during celebrations, typically on the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve, but it hasn’t bothered him. This time, he doesn’t believe the rounds were fired straight up into the air only.

“This was definitely a lateral shot,” he said.

Hart has added photos of the bullet holes in his home to Cranberry Patch. To view them, click on the gallery above. To read about Renee Piroth’s experience when the bullets struck her home New Year’s Eve, click here.

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