Crime & Safety

Boyfriend Argues, Shoots Apartment Wall, Police Say

Ohio man charged after he fired gun inside Bethlehem Township apartment, police say.

This post was written and reported by Jack Tobias

An Ohio man arguing with his girlfriend Tuesday night about their “deteriorating relationship” fired a shot from a handgun into a bedroom wall shared by an adjoining apartment unit, police said.

No one was hurt in the Bethlehem Township incident and the .45-caliber bullet came out the other side—meaning into the other apartment—and landed on the floor. As for the man and woman lying in bed in the other apartment:

”They reported that the crack of the firearm and plaster falling onto them scared both of them,” court records say.

The alleged shooter, James William Blomstran, 23, admitted to police he fired into the wall from his Kimber .45-caliber handgun, according to an affidavit. Police also learned Blomstran had been drinking earlier and that he and his girlfriend had been arguing throughout the night.

Blomstran’s address is listed as Cortland, Ohio, which is north of Youngstown in the eastern part of the state. But Tuesday night’s incident occurred at 2130 Johnston Drive.

Blomstran was charged with discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure—a level-three felony—as well as misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct.

He was arraigned by on-duty District Judge Robert Hawke of Lehigh Township and committed to Norethampton County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail.

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