Man in custody after shooting mother inside Brighton Township home, police say

BRIGHTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A man is in custody after police say he shot his mother inside a Brighton Township home Monday morning.

Emergency crews were called to the 100 block of Fox Water Trail in Brighton Township shortly before 5 a.m.

Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible said the woman was life-flighted to a hospital and is in stable condition.

Neighbors said they were awakened by the sound of a woman yelling for help shortly before dawn.

“I heard screaming for help over there,” said Knox Recioppo, who said he woke up to the commotion and woke up his parents, who then called 911.

His uncle Mathew Serbati said he and his family ran outside to check on the woman.

“We ran over there, we saw a lot of blood, and we noticed it’s a gunshot wound, so we kind of got back to our house because we didn’t know where the shooter is,” Serbati said.

A neighbor’s video captured Brighton Township police officers taking a man into custody outside the residence. We’ve since learned that man is Daniel Kernick, 38, and he’s facing charges of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Authorities said there was no ongoing threat to the public following the incident. Still, residents described the ordeal as unsettling in what they called a typically quiet neighborhood.

“I swear it’s a pretty normal neighborhood most of the time,” Serbati said.

Another resident said hearing a woman scream for help and seeing a large police response early in the morning was traumatic.

“To hear someone screaming for help, and police arriving at five in the morning is pretty traumatic,” Anna Marie Mellett said.

Recioppo said the events left him shaken.

“I couldn’t fall back to sleep,” he said.

Neighbors also praised the young boy’s quick thinking.

“I’m glad that he knew that he should get help from adults in the house,” Mellett said. “That’s good teaching on the parents’ part that you need to get adults for help.”

Brighton Township Police said the investigation remains ongoing. Kernich is being held at the Beaver County Jail.

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