Cops: Pellet Gun Shooting Leads to Assault Arrest
Riverhead Town police said they arrested a 19-year-old Flanders man Wednesday after he shot a woman in the face using a Crosman rifle pellet gun.
Around 5:30 p.m., police responded to Target, where a 19-year-old woman was suffering from a puncture wound to the side of her face. “Upon further investigation, it was determined that the wound appeared to have been caused by a pellet,” police said.
Responding officers had seen two males in the wooded area to the east of Target’s parking lot, and later identified one of them as Christopher B. Collins. He was found to be in possession of a pellet gun, police said, and investigation revealed he intentionally fired the gun at the victim.
Collins was booked at Riverhead police headquarters and held for arraignment at Riverhead Town Justice Court. He is charged with second-degree assault, a felony.
The victim was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where a pellet was found embedded in her skin.