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UPDATE: Police Charge Man Who Carried Crossbow onto Public Square

WILKES-BARRE — Police in Wilkes-Barre had to respond to a bizarre and alarming 911 call: a man seen walking around Public Square armed with crossbow. The ...

WILKES-BARRE -- Police in Wilkes-Barre had to respond to a bizarre and alarming 911 call: a man seen walking around Public Square armed with crossbow.

The calls came in around 5:30 p.m. Monday, with plenty of people out on the square.

Wilkes-Barre police came rushing out to Public Square after the calls came in. Moments later, Newswatch 16 found officers surrounding the man who was taken into custody after being hit with a stun gun.

Witnesses tell us that man pointed the crossbow at them and it was loaded.

“It was loaded and everything,” said Anthony Jones of Wilkes-Barre. “I just didn`t want to get shot at.”

“I tried to stall him by saying, 'Oh, put the crossbow down. When the cops get here you`re going to be arrested.' He was like, 'What? You`re a snitch.' He pulled it up and he cocked it back and pointed it at me and that`s when I ran,” said Nathan Branet of Wilkes-Barre.

Police have now charged that man, Joseph Warnagiris, 29, of Wilkes-Barre, with numerous offenses including propulsion of missiles onto a roadway since police said there were reports he fired a shot a passing vehicle.

As Warnagiris was being taken away by police, he told us the reason he was walking around with the crossbow.

“I was simply taking it out for test run. I was taking it out to the woods, but I took a cross-road walk, just so happens I ended up here,” he said.

People on the square were thankful no one was hurt, but witnesses said it could have been a lot worse.

“He pointed it at all of us and he just started chasing us,” said Raymond Rittenhouse of Nanticoke.

“If I had a chance to get it off him I would have because I didn`t want little kids getting hurt. People had their kids out and stuff, you know,” said Branet.

“My name is Joseph Warnagiris,” he yelled as he was put in the police vehicle. “I was not going to hurt nobody.”

Wilkes-Barre police are still working on releasing information on the incident, but said the man was taken to the hospital for an evaluation.

 

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