Police Say Man Fires BB Weapon At Mailbox, Hits Emergency Vehicles

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Shots from what police believe was some sort of BB rifle were fired at two emergency vehicles Tuesday night in Moon Township.

Police said 20-year-old Ryan McCleary, of Evans City, shot one of their cars as it passed by a house in the 900 block of Broadhead Road.

“(The driver) hears the breaking of the glass — he looks over, the window is completely shattered. There’s a hole in the window. He pulls over, takes cover,” Chief Leo McCarthy said.

Channel 4 Action News’ Sheldon Ingram reported that McCleary, a Robert Morris University student, is also accused of shooting the passenger-side front door of an ambulance with at least two people inside. No injuries were reported.

Police said McCleary was shooting at a mailbox and missed badly. Although the weapon wasn’t large, police said it was enough to do significant damage and could have been a bad situation if the driver had lost control and hit another vehicle.

“It was enough to penetrate a window, it was enough to ding the door on ambulance. I don’t want to rule out it could be something more than a BB. It’s definitely going to be something very small caliber,” Sgt. Douglas Busch said.

McCleary’s attorney, Steve Townsend, said bond has been posted and McCleary is expected to be released from the Allegheny County Jail early Wednesday evening. Charges include reckless endangerment, aggravated assault and criminal mischief, police said.

“He’s a Robert Morris student with a 3.6 grade-point average, and he has a job to pay for his college,” Townsend said.