LANCASTER COUNTY — A 25-year-old man is accused of shooting a pistol at a park in Columbia last week.
Cody Sweitzer-Harrington, of Manheim, is charged with person not to possess a firearm and defiant trespasser.
Around 10 p.m. Thursday, West Hempfield Township Police were dispatched to Chickies Rock County Park after receiving a report from a Lancaster County Park Ranger that an individual was firing rounds within the park, according to a news release. The park ranger added that he heard six gunshots.
Moments after being dispatched, officers were informed that the park ranger located the suspect and had recovered the firearm.
The individual, identified as Sweitzer-Harrington, told police that a friend gave him the .40 caliber KAHR pistol to target shoot, the release says. He also allegedly admitted to firing shots in the park toward the river and that because he was a convicted felon, he knew that he was not to be in possession of a firearm, the release states. Officers reported that he had also been consuming alcohol on the park property.
Sweitzer-Harrington was taken into custody without incident.
The release adds that officers reported that the firearm allegedly used by Sweitzer-Harrington was not registered.
