An East Petersburg man was arrested for simple assault after a bullet he allegedly fired struck a moving vehicle on Graystone Road, injuring an infant.
Tiffanie Howard, of East Petersburg, was driving east on Graystone Road with two small children at 9:20 p.m. Friday when a rear passenger's-side window was shattered. The broken glass struck her 5-month-old child, resulting in minor facial injuries. The infant — the police report did not list the gender of the infant — was not taken to a hospital.
James M. Swarr, 40, of the 6300 block of Carpenter Street, East Petersburg, was arrested after police determined he had been firing a .22 caliber rifle and a shotgun toward and across Graystone Road, including at a junction box on a utility pole. One of the bullets shattered the car window, police said.
Swarr was charged by Detective John Wettlaufer with simple assault, propulsion of missiles, recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief.
"He was careless in judgment," said Sgt. Thomas Rudzinski, public information officer for Manheim Township police. "He didn't mean to hurt anyone."
In addition to hitting the Howard van, Swarr knocked out Verizon phone service to several customers, Rudzinski said.
On-call Magisterial District Judge Jayne F. Duncan was contacted and Swarr was released pending a summons.
Cris Foehlinger is a staff writer for the Sunday News. Her e-mail address is cfoehlinger@lnpnews.com.
