LOWER WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, York County — Police have charged a 26-year-old Lower Windsor Township man with aggravated assault, simple assault, terroristic threats, and reckless endangerment after he allegedly doused himself with gasoline and tried to set himself on fire in an attempt to kill himself and his family while locked inside a garage during a domestic incident Thursday morning.
Timothy Michael Gile, of the 300 block of Newcomer Road, was taken into custody in the parking lot of a Walmart Store in Springettsbury Township after fleeing from the scene, according to Lower Windsor Township Police.
Police say the incident began around 9:25 a.m., when officers were dispatched to the 300 block of Newcomer Road for the report of a threat. Gile’s father contacted police to report that Gile had a gun, and threatened to kill himself and his family while inside a detached garage.
Gile’s father managed to get Gile’s girlfriend and daughter out of the garage, he told police, but Gile was still inside.
Gile had fled the scene by the time officers arrived. Police set up a perimeter and began tracking Gile’s cell phone signal, according to the criminal complaint.
Gile’s girlfriend told police that she and Gile began arguing over the feeding of their baby. When she entered the garage to retrieve a car seat, the victim said, Gile followed her inside, shut the door, and poured gasoline over himself in an attempt to kill himself and his family.
When the fire did not catch, Gile allegedly grabbed a shotgun and pointed it at the victim and their child, threatening to kill them both.
At that point, police say, Gile’s father arrived to drop off another child, heard the altercation, and opened the garage door to investigate. The victim and her child managed to escape and fled to the house, police say.
Gile allegedly held a shotgun to his chin and threatened to kill himself, Gile’s father said. His father then called police.
While police were on the scene, Gile texted his father and told him he was with his mother, who had picked him up along Craley Road, police say. Police tracked Gile’s cell phone signal to the parking lot of a Springettsbury Township Walmart, where they later found him.
Gile was taken into custody without incident and transported to York Hospital for a mental health evaluation. During his drive to the hospital, Gile allegedly admitted to threatening his family with the gun, according to police.
