Butler man charged with firing into apartment
A Butler man was taken into custody Tuesday, April 4, after police said he shot out the windows of a neighbor’s apartment.
Police determined that more than 30 rounds were fired during the incident.
Nathan T. Ferraro, 31, was charged with felonies aggravated assault and discharging a firearm in an occupied structure and misdemeanor reckless endangerment for an incident at the East Jefferson Street apartments.
A resident reported at 1:56 a.m. Tuesday that shots were fired in the apartment above hers. Officers responded to an area behind Monroe Hotel near the apartment building and heard several shots fired.
A man was spotted leaving the building and walking between houses on College Street, police said. A motion sensor-activated light revealed to officers that the man was holding a long gun.
The man was identified as Ferraro. Police ordered him to drop his weapon, and he was taken into custody without incident.
The gun was discovered to be a .22 caliber Henry Arms long rifle. It was loaded with five live rounds. An additional 43 live rounds were found on Ferraro’s person.
Investigating officers discovered that two of Ferraro’s apartment windows had bullet holes in them, and they recovered 28 spent rounds and additional live rounds.
According to a release from police, Ferraro also built two barricades in and around his apartment.
Upon investigating the caller’s apartment, police found three of her windows were shot through, including a window in her bedroom.
Police said Ferraro made unsolicited statements while being taken into custody about how people were after him and “she needs help, someone is after her.”
According to a statement from Robert O’Neill, chief of the Butler Bureau of Police, the department has had a series of escalating contacts with Ferraro that began in March. He was referred to mental health providers on Saturday, April 1, and later released.
Ferraro was placed in Butler County Prison on Tuesday in lieu of $250,000 bail. His preliminary hearing before District Judge William Fullerton is scheduled April 10.
