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Port Chester resident Abe Massa, 29, has been charged with reckless endangerment after threatening his family with a shotgun, firing it in front of his mother and pointing it at her on Oct. 10. Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino, Jr. announced the arraignment on Thursday afternoon.
Massa was charged at the Westchester County Medical Center, where he was taken on Wednesday for evaluation.
The incident took place at approximately 5 p.m. on Wednesday, when police in Port Chester received an emergency call from a woman who said that there was a suicidal man in their Willett Avenue residence who was armed with a shotgun and had fired shots, Port Chester Police Chief Richard Conway said.
Scarpino said that Massa pointed the loaded shotgun at the ceiling before firing a shot in front of his mother. He then turned the gun on her before firing a second shot into a nearby wall. At the time of the incident, there were three children in the home.
Police officers that responded to the scene used ballistic shields to block gunfire from the third-floor stairwell as Det. Matthew Chalmers led the children, located on the second floor, to safety, the chief added. Once the children were safe, they worked to get the woman to safety, climbing to the third floor. As police entered the residence, they found Massa and the woman sitting on a bed, with the shotgun in his arms.
After threatening officers and himself, Massa was tackled by police at the scene and taken into custody. He was arrested and transported to the Westchester Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation before he could be arraigned on Thursday.
Massa has been remanded into custody and the matter has been adjourned until Oct. 15.
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