Police: Hellam Twp. man fires shots through child's bedroom

• Police say Kristopher Barnes fired six rounds in a house occupied by two young children and their mother.
• One bullet went through a window but was stopped by a wooden deck railing, documents said.

Police say a Hellam Township man in custody since Sunday is charged with firing a handgun inside his Clover Drive residence while two young girls, ages 1 and 4, were in the home.

Some of the rounds went into the 4-year-old girl's bedroom, where she was lying in bed, according to a police report.

The incident took place between 10 and 11 a.m. on June 30, according to charging documents. But Kristopher Barnes, 26, was not arrested until July 17, when police were called to his home at 441 Clover Drive for a domestic dispute. The 911 dispatcher heard three adults screaming at each other and a male voice over the open phone line saying, "I'll kill you," the documents said.

Once police were on the scene, they found Barnes sitting outside the mobile home on the hood of a car. Barnes said the trailer was a mess and was not fit for children to live in, the documents said.

Inside the home, police spoke with Victoria Glick, who said Barnes had fired the gun inside the home two weeks earlier. The officers then detained Barnes, handcuffed him and placed him in the back of their car, the documents said.

Glick told police that on Sunday Barnes had threatened to kill her and another woman at the house just before the officers showed up. But she said it was on June 30, after Barnes had asked to use her phone and then mumbled something under his breath as she handed it to him, that the violence took place.

Shots fired: Glick said she asked Barnes to repeat whatever it was he had mumbled and he got "up in her face so close she could feel his spit," according to the documents. She said she tried to push him away, but Barnes grabbed her by her shirt, slung her to the floor and choked her until she almost lost consciousness.

Glick said that was when Barnes got up, retrieved a Hi-Point 9 mm from its place on top of the refrigerator, and fired off about six rounds inside the trailer.

The 1-year-old was in a Pack 'n Play crib and playpen a few feet from Barnes when he fired the pistol, but according to the report, the 4-year-old was lying in her bed in the bedroom on the other side of the living room wall through which Barnes was firing.

Another shot passed through the living room window but was stopped by the deck banister, the documents said. Glick said Barnes stopped firing when the pistol jammed, and then he threw the gun, knocking another hole in the wall. Barnes left, and as soon as he was gone, Glick gathered her children and left the residence as well, according to the documents.

Police: Man nearly shoots neighbor in apartment below

Bloods, Latin Kings: Glick told the officers that Barnes came back Saturday with another man and threatened to come back and "shoot up the crib," the documents said. He returned again Sunday, banging on the door, and when Glick answered, he told her he was going to get the Bloods and the Latin Kings to shoot the house up and kill her, the documents said.

Hellam Township Police Chief Doug Pollock said investigators have no reason to believe Barnes is a gang member or is affiliated with either the Blods or the Latin Kings. He said anyone can claim that they are a gang member, or they might know some people who are, but none of that was germane to this matter.

Pollock also said police have been called to the residence in the past for domestic disturbances.

"We had been there before for a couple of domestics," he said. "We believe (Barnes) has got some mental health issues."

Police arrested Barnes and charged him with possession of a firearm by a person prohibited from having a gun and making terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another, as well as two counts each of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. He also is charged with criminal mischief causing damage to property and disorderly conduct by abusive language.

Barnes is being held in the York County Prison under a $25,000 bond awaiting a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 25.

— Reach John Joyce at jjoyce2@yorkdispatch.comor on Twitter at @JohnJoyceYD.