Lanesborough Man Charged After Shots Fired From Baker St. Home
LANESBOROUGH, Mass.— A man has been charged for allegedly drunkenly shooting from his Baker Street home on Saturday night.
Aaron Pierce, 21, is facing multiple charges for allegedly shooting a gun near homes and a road while intoxicated. Police said charges are pending for two other people in the home, who were not named.
On Aug. 22, around 10:15 p.m., Lanesborough police responded to the area of 69 Baker Street for a report of shots fired.
As officers arrived, they reportedly heard a shot coming from the back of the home. The Massachusetts State Police, Pittsfield Police Department, and Massachusetts Environmental Police responded to the area for assistance.
"The three occupants that were inside 69 Baker St eventually exited the residence without incident. It was later determined the occupants of the residence were intoxicated and discharging the firearm out the back door of the residence," LPD wrote in a press release on Monday.
"Baker St is a residential neighborhood with several houses in the immediate area. The firearms and ammunition inside the residence were secured into evidence by the Lanesborough Police Department."
The owner of the home and guns, Aaron Pierce, 21, was charged with 15 counts of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, discharging a firearm within 150 feet of a road, two counts of improper firearm storage, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, and disorderly conduct. He had a License to Carry.
Police said Pierce was held at the Berkshire County Jail on $1,000 bail and will be arraigned in District Court; a date was not provided.
The LPD said additional charges are pending for the other occupants.
This comes after a recent string of gun violence incidents in Pittsfield, just miles from where these shots were fired, and Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue formed a task force to take on the issue.
On Monday evening, the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence will hold a virtual meeting to discuss the recent uptick in gun violence in Pittsfield. The meeting will call for public health interventions, such as violence interrupters, hospital violence intervention, a neighborhood trauma response team, and more.
It will be held over Zoom from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
There have been four gun violence incidents in Pittsfield since mid-June, leaving one person dead and a total of seven injured.
Last week, the day after the DA announced the task force, another person was injured after shots were fired on Circular Avenue. A couple of nights before, three people were taken to the hospital after a shooting near the intersection of Linden Street and Francis Avenue.
On June 18, a person died after being shot in the area of Tyler Street and Pleasure Avenue, and another person was injured. Following an extensive investigation, police had an arrest warrant out for Terry Martizna, 35, on a charge of murder.
On Aug. 4, there was a report of approximately 25 rounds fired around the intersection of Onota and Walnut Street, leading to two non-life-threatening injuries.
