A Pennsylvania man is behind bars after allegedly opening fire on a roadside bar, injuring several people and killing a mother of four.
Nathan Fink, 40, has been charged with criminal homicide and more than a dozen counts of reckless endangerment and attempted criminal homicide.
According to Pennsylvania State Police, Fink was “involved in a physical altercation with bar patrons” at Breaker’s Pub in Ellport Boro, approximately 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, around 2 a.m. on September 7.
Fink was led out of the bar and left in his car. However, that was not the end of it.
“A few moments later, Fink returned to the parking Breaker’s Pub and opened fire,” according to a police statement. Fink allegedly fired a rifle at the bar’s exterior, “striking multiple vehicles and penetrating the main entrance door, striking victims inside the Pub.”
He then allegedly got back into his car and “continued to fire his weapon from his vehicle at multiple businesses and residences and fled traveling East along Portersville Road,” according to the police statement.
Crystal Wawryznski, 37, a mother of four, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her husband received a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, according to police.
Three others were also hit by gunfire, including one who was inside his apartment at the time, according to police.
According to the local news website New Castle News, Fink and three other men got into a shoving match after arguing. One of the three men broke up the fight, and Fink left the bar, but he reportedly left his wallet, which contained his ID.
One of the men involved in the fight remembered Fink saying he was going to get his knife and that the people at the bar “didn’t know what kind of trouble he could bring to this place.”
When Fink returned, he reportedly fired dozens of shots at the bar. WFMJ, a local NBC affiliate, reported that police discovered two sets of 11 shell casings from two different weapons on scene.
Fink was finally apprehended at his home on the afternoon of September 7. He was arraigned on Sunday and denied bail.
According to court records, Fink’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 18.
