By Jamie Wiggan
-COUNTY INVESTIGATION-
Allegheny County police are still investigating and have released no new details after announcing on the night of the incident that a woman was suffering from a “non-life-threatening” wound caused by a shooting in the 700-block of Broadway. The owner of the gun has not been identified.
A woman grazed after a stray bullet tore through a Stowe bar says her injury resulted from an accidental handgun discharge.
Stowe resident Naomi Jordan identified herself as the victim of an Oct. 27 shooting inside Ace’s Tavern on Broadway Avenue, and was told by doctors she may have been struck by a speck of splintered flooring.
“I was just sitting there talking to somebody and the next thing I know the gun went off,” she said.
Jordan was briefly admitted to a local hospital where she was treated for minor skin damage. She said she felt “a little prick” at the time of the discharge, which later morphed into a “burning” sensation.
Allegheny County police are still investigating and have released no new details after announcing on the night of the incident that a woman was suffering from a “non-life-threatening” wound caused by a shooting in the 700-block of Broadway. The owner of the gun has not been identified.
Chris Bowler, a co-owner of Ace’s Tavern, corroborated Jordan’s account of the incident.
“It was accidentally discharged,” he said “…There was no threat to anybody.”
Bowler said he recognized the gun’s owner as an occasional customer but did not know whether he was legally entitled to carry a loaded weapon in public.
Jordan likewise said she recognized the man, but did not know him well. Both attested he fled the scene before police arrived there.
“If you don’t know how to carry a gun properly, don’t carry a gun,” Jordan said.
Following a flurry of social media speculation fuelled by initial reports of the incident, Bowler said he is concerned for the reputation of his bar, which was run by his father for more than 40 years before he and his brother recently took over.
Jordan said she is not scared to return to Ace’s Tavern, which she has frequented semi-regularly since moving to the area 10 years ago.
“It was a freak accident,” she said. “It just grazed me and thank God no one else was hit.”
Allegheny County Police request that anyone with information concerning the incident call the department’s anonymous tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS.