EPHRATA TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Mark Ivie Jr., 21, has been convicted of five counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter, five counts of aggravated assault, two counts of recklessly endangering a person, and two counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied building for a shooting that took place on July 5, 2020, according to police.
Ivie Jr. opened fire with an AR-15 and shot at a group of men after an altercation broke out at his home in Ephrata over a "Snapchat argument," according to previous FOX43 reporting.
A jury found Ivie Jr. guilty on Oct. 27, after about two-and-a-half hours of deliberations.
During the trial, the jury had heard testimony from a former coworker of Ivie Jr. who claimed he had posted a music video on Snapchat. The coworker claimed that Ivie Jr. had criticized the video and started an argument. The argument continued until Ivie Jr. sent his former coworker his address so that the two could have a fistfight. The coworker then showed up to Ivie's home with five other friends, with whom he'd been having a Fourth of July cookout, also according to police.
The six unarmed individuals went to Ivie Jr.'s home, where he and his father Mark Ivie Sr., waited out in front of the house. The two greeted the group on the sidewalk where Ivie Jr. began to fight one of the members of the larger group. Ivie Sr. allegedly handed his son a gun and threw a punch towards one of the men. Ivie Jr. then took off the safety and fired 14 rounds at the group of men, striking four of them while two bullets went into nearby houses.
A nearby home caught the entire incident on surveillance camera. Footage shows that everyone had run away after the first few shots, but Ivie kept firing, resulting in his many convictions.
Ivie Jr. could be sentenced to more than a century in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for Dec. 22, 2021.
Mark Ivie Sr., 44, also faces six charges of criminal conspiracy, six charges of aggravated assault, and a charge of simple assault at his upcoming trial.
