An off-duty Metro D.C. police officer attending a house party on Walther Court in Berkeley Springs called 911 to report gunshots being fired in the air on Saturday night, July 8 at around 11:30 p.m.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Morgan County Magistrate Court by Sgt. Scott Lemon with Morgan County Sheriff’s Department, the suspect, identified as Aaron J. Smith, 29, of Kitzmiller, Md., was uninvited and in a verbal argument with another male at the party. Both men appeared to be intoxicated.
Smith threatened to get a gun and “line up” everyone at the party, according to the criminal complaint. About 40 people were in attendance.
Witnesses then heard two shots fired and called police. Law enforcement officers located a Winchester rifle and five rounds of ammunition, with two spent, in a nearby residence.
Smith admitted to removing the rifle from a parked vehicle and attempting to hide it when he learned police were on the way.
Smith was arrested and charged with wanton endangerment with a firearm. He was released from jail on a $5,000 bond and is awaiting a hearing in the incident.
