Police: Man shoots, kills dog, injures dog’s owner

Click here for updates on this story

    POTTSVILLE, PA (WNEP) — Pottsville police say it was at the intersection of West Market and Fourth Streets where Seth Howard opened fire.

He shot a pit bull multiple times, killing it around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Officials say one of those bullets hit the dog’s owner, William Clark of Pottsville, in the right thigh.

Clark was flown to Lehigh Valley hospital, where he was treated for his injury.

Witnesses say they heard several gunshots.

“Must have been about 15 to 20 shots. And one girl who was waiting in the reception room, jumped up and ran back,” said Wendy Lamp, who works at Pottsville Dental Center across the street from where the shooting took place.

“There was at least five shots, at least,” said Grisha Eidinov, who lives on West Market Street.

“I was coming out the door, and I heard, bop, bop, bop. Then I looked down the street, dog was getting shot,” said Frank Haynes.

Court papers show police found 10 bullet casings at the scene. They were taken for evidence.

Police say after shooting the dog, Howard put down the handgun.

A Pennsylvania State Constable in the area was able to secure the gun while officers were arriving.

Witnesses say, Howard, who they say was dressed in camouflage, was taken into custody without a fight.

“He just stood there, you know, just stood there with his all camouflage, camouflage backpack, and then just waited for cops to come,” said Eidinov.

Police have not said what prompted Howard to fire on the dog, but they say Howard put people in danger by firing his gun on a street that is heavily traveled.

Lamp says it was terrifying to hear gunshots ring out on such a busy street, right in the middle of the day.

“I was never so scared in my life. I’ve never experienced anything that,” said Lamp.

Howard faces several charges, including aggravated assault and aggravated cruelty to animals, both felony counts.

Howard was taken to the Schuylkill County Prison.

He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 25 at 10:00 a.m. in Judge James Reiley’s courtroom.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.