Waterbury man cited after Friday morning gun incident, false statements to police
Sept. 24, 2022 | By Lisa Scagliotti
A Waterbury man is facing charges of reckless endangerment and giving false information to police after an incident Friday morning where Vermont State Police said he admitted to firing an AR-15 rifle from the porch of his home on U.S. Route 2.
No one was injured in the incident that state police said they responded to just before 7:30 a.m. Friday at a residence at 1589 U.S. Route 2 west of Waterbury village.
Trooper Ryan Riegler in a news release Friday afternoon said police found the owner of the home to be Joseph Bishop, age 46.
“During the investigation, Bishop made several conflicting statements to investigating troopers about an unknown Black man from out of state inside the residence,” Riegler wrote. “Bishop claimed he had been in an altercation with this individual, and that the unidentified man had produced a concealed AR-15 and fired a round.”
As it turned out, further investigation found that Bishop made false statements to police. “Bishop eventually admitted [that] he pulled out an AR-15 and fired at least one round into the air while outside his residence,” Riegler noted.
The incident touched off multiple calls to the Vermont State Police from schools and child care centers in the area. Police said school representatives were concerned after hearing of a “possible active shooter incident.”
The situation was an isolated event, police said, never an “active shooter situation.”
Berlin Police Department and Waterbury Ambulance Service assisted at the scene, police said.
Bishop was cited to appear in Vermont Superior Court in Barre on Nov. 8 to answer to the charges of reckless endangerment and providing false information to law enforcement, police said.
Meanwhile, state police noted that the investigation into the events on Friday morning continues, “and additional charges are possible.”
Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to call the state police Berlin barracks at 802-229-9191 or send an anonymous tip using the website http://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.