Bristol, Va., man arrested on gun charges

BRISTOL, Va. – A man was arrested after firing a gun inside his girlfriend’s Vance Street apartment about lunchtime Wednesday. The girlfriend said he was shooting at – or near – her cousin, who had walked in unannounced and pushed her down onto the stairs. The bullet passed through the home’s exterior wall, just next to the front door, and blew a hole through the porch.
No one was injured.
Deshannon Bradley, 22, is charged with discharging a firearm within a building or dwelling occupied by one or more persons. Police had yet to track down the cousin.
Bradley’s girlfriend, Ashley Williams, said her cousin had lived in the apartment until about a month ago when she kicked him out for having unwelcome guests. Williams said that after her cousin pushed her, Bradley grabbed him and started to take him out of the house. She said the two had never met.
Williams said she heard the cousin threaten to kill Bradley, and saw Bradley come out of a room with a gun. She ran into the bathroom to hide, then heard the gunshots.
Police said the particulars of the incident were still unclear Wednesday afternoon. Using a pencil and a piece of string, they determined the shot was fired from the top of the stairs, and pierced the wall about 4 feet from the floor of the porch. An investigator said it appeared he “just fired blindly.”
Bradley was released Wednesday on a $2,500 bond. His arraignment is Dec. 15.
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