A 24-year-old man is dead after his brother told police he accidentally shot him in the back of the neck in Wilson Borough. Officers responding to the 2200 block of Birch Street on Sunday found the man who made the admission, and the victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died.
According to 6abc Philadelphia, police were called to the address in Wilson Borough, Northampton County, and located a man who said he had accidentally shot his 24-year-old brother in the back of the neck. The victim was taken to the Anderson Campus of St. Luke's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the station reports. The surviving brother was taken in for questioning, and the shooting remains under investigation, per the same account.
The Anderson Campus, located along St. Luke's Boulevard in nearby Bethlehem Township, opened in 2011 and operates as an accredited Level II Adult Trauma Center, according to the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation. The facility provides emergency and surgical services.
Who's Investigating and What Could Come Next
The shooting remains under investigation. The Wilson Borough Police Department is described by the Borough of Wilson as a full-service, 24/7 law-enforcement agency. The department operates within the roughly 1.2-square-mile borough, which sits directly adjacent to the city of Easton and had a population of 8,259 as of the 2020 U.S. Census, per data from the U.S. Census Bureau via Wikipedia.
The Northampton County District Attorney's Office, led by District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta, a former President Judge of the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas who took office in January 2024, is assisting with the investigation, according to the Northampton County District Attorney's Office. Baratta previously served 25 years as a Common Pleas judge before his election as DA.
What Pennsylvania Law Says About Accidental Shootings
Under Pennsylvania law, causing another person's death through reckless or grossly negligent conduct is classified as involuntary manslaughter under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2504, a misdemeanor of the first degree carrying up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to Shuttleworth Law.
Recklessly endangering another person is a second-degree misdemeanor carrying up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine, and applies whenever someone's conduct consciously disregards a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. It remains unresolved whether either charge will ultimately be filed in this case, ownership and storage of the firearm involved have not been detailed publicly, and the exact circumstances that led to the discharge are still unknown.
A Fatal Shooting in Northampton County
A fatal shooting in West Easton left a 52-year-old man dead inside a residence after a confrontation with two people.
