Brittany L. Young

A dispute Sunday among neighbors in Evans City about dogs defecating in yards prompted a Grove City woman to fire off a round, according to police.

According to charging documents, the incident ended quickly after Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police arrived.

“After being ordered to drop the firearm by (an officer), she dropped the firearm and instantly got onto the ground face-down,” said the investigating officer in the affidavit.

Police arrested and charged Brittany L. Young, 37, of Grove City, with two counts of felony aggravated assault as well as misdemeanors of reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.

Young was arraigned Sunday night by District Judge William O'Donnell. She was then taken to Butler County Prison, where she remains on $50,000 bond.

According to Police Chief Joe McCombs, Young had family and friends in the area, which is why she was in the neighborhood.

“She interjected herself into a neighbor dispute,” he said.

Police said the Evans City man at whom Young allegedly shot was not injured. It was unclear how close Young was to the man.

Although Young surrendered quickly and the incident was brief, officers remained at the scene until around 8 p.m.

“It's a matter of interviewing witnesses and putting the pieces together,” McCombs said. “It takes time.”

According to charging documents, police unloaded the handgun, which had one round short of a full magazine. Police said they also found one live round in the chamber and one spent casing in the gravel parking area.

“While I was standing with her, she stated to me that if she could have shot more times, she would have and that we would've needed a body bag if the gun didn't 'jam,'” said the investigating officer.

Police said the man who was shot at was returning home after an extended trip, and he was unloading his vehicle when the argument began with a neighbor.

Police said Young had been parked nearby, and the man had walked past her car to argue with multiple neighbors who collectively raised complaints about his dog being on their property.

“Young proceeded to get out of her vehicle and yell at (the man) to stop yelling due to the children being around,” police said.

According to police, Young then grabbed the gun out of her vehicle. It was a 9 mm pistol.

Police said the man still continued to yell and argue with neighbors, so Young began to rack the magazine over and over. The process of racking loads a bullet into the gun's chamber, making it a live round, capable of being fired.

“(The man) then yelled at her, 'You dumb (expletive), you don't even know how to use a gun,' and turned his back to carry things into the residence, when she fired one round in the direction of (the man), which struck the ground before it could get to him,” police said. “She then was trying to rack the firearm again.”

Police arrived shortly afterward.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 27 before District Judge Wayne Seibel.