WOLF TOWNSHIP -- State police in Lycoming County tell us a man was drunk and angry when they say he fired his gun and beat up a teenager. The family was so terrified that they curled up on the floor and waited for help.
State police say James Nottingham's girlfriend was at his house with her daughter and two of her cousins early Monday morning when the argument started.
Tuesday we spoke with one of those cousins who described Nottingham as drunk and out of control.
Brandon Renner worked fast to unload his uncle's trailer near Hughesville. He used the trailer to drop stuff off at the home of his cousin's now ex-boyfriend.
"Just getting everything of his and hers back and just getting out of here and going back home," said Brandon Renner.
The home belonging to James Nottingham is where Renner, his cousin, and a 14-year old relative got caught up in a violent domestic dispute early Monday morning.
"I don't know what they were arguing about. He was just so angry with her," said Renner.
Renner tells us that Nottingham had come home drunk from a bar and punched the 14 year old when the boy tried to break up the fight. Then he says Nottingham got a rifle and fired shots into the floor and into the wall.
"I just didn't react soon enough to do anything before he got a gun," said Renner.
Nottingham's now ex-girlfriend did not want to talk with us on camera. Off camera, she told us she was grateful to her cousins, without them she could have been badly injured or worse.
"I just kept talking to him saying, 'Hey, it's not worth it. Just calm down please.' Just thinking about anything to say to keep him concentrated on me," said Renner.
Nottingham eventually left the house, but Renner and his family stayed down on the floor until state police arrived.
"Just standing there feet from everything and watching it all happen in front of your eyes. It's a real eye opener," said Renner.
Troopers arrested James Nottingham on charges including aggravated assault. He is locked up in Lycoming County prison on $150,000 bail.