A Hamilton Township man was charged with allegedly making threats and discharging a firearm inside of an occupied home after a report of a gunshot on Monday evening, according to court records.
Joshua McMaster, 21, of Hamilton Township, is facing a felony count of discharging a firearm inside an occupied structure, along with misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and making terroristic threats, according to charging documents filed by Pennsylvania State Police in Hamilton Township on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
McMaster was taken into the care of Gettysburg Hospital following the incident, where the court documents filed Monday said he had remained.
McMaster was not yet arraigned on the charges, as of Monday afternoon, and no arraignment or preliminary hearing was yet scheduled at that time.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, police were called to a home on the 300 block of Old Mill Road in Hamilton Township for a “Mental Health Act” just before 11 p.m. on Monday, April 7, 2025.
Police spoke with a victim who was inside the home, who related that she was in a relationship with McMaster and that the pair had gotten into a verbal altercation about their relationship while McMaster had allegedly been drinking, the documents state
During the altercation, McMaster reportedly retrieved a tan Glock 17 handgun and placed it to his head, stating that he was going to kill himself, according to the affidavit.
The victim locked herself inside of a bathroom, the affidavit states, and McMaster allegedly began attempting to break the door down.
When the victim expressed that she would not let him in because she did not know what he would do, McMaster allegedly told the victim that “he was going to kill her,” the affidavit alleges.
After the situation had “calmed down,” the victim was speaking on the phone when she heard a single gunshot from another room, and ran to check on McMaster believing he may have shot himself, according to the criminal complaint.
Instead, according to the affidavit, it was alleged that the firearm had discharged while McMaster was “stumbling back to his bedroom.” No one was wounded by the discharge, according to the documents.
Investigators determined that the round went through the wall on the left side of the hallway, into a bathroom, then ricocheted into the bedroom, the affidavit states. The gunshot resulted in 911 being called by a third party, the complaint said.
McMaster and the victim were the only two in the house, the affidavit states.
McMaster was then transported to Gettysburg Hospital for a mental health evaluation, according to the affidavit.
This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Adams County man charged after firearm discharge in a home, police say
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