Somerset County man charged for fatally shooting brother with crossbow, police say

SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. — A Somerset County man has been charged in the deadly shooting of his brother.

Travis Shearer, 32, from Friedens, is charged with criminal homicide.

According to the criminal complaint, Shearer called 911 just before 8 p.m. Friday and reported his brother was attacking him so he shot him in the chest with a crossbow. He was hysterical and crying.

Shearer told police his brother, Eric Miller, refused to leave after they went to a local bar and instead wanted to go to another bar, which started an argument.

Responding units found Shearer laying on top of Miller while sobbing, the complaint said.

Shearer stated to officers that Miller hit him twice in the face while they were driving and began choking him when they got to his house. He said his brother chased him before he ran into the house to get the crossbow. He said he told Miller to leave, to which he refused and charged him, the complaint said.

Shearer also told police he had a Ring camera which showed the altercation.

The video footage showed Shearer and Miller in the house’s driveway yelling at each other. At around 7:45 p.m., Shearer was seen standing on the front porch and Miller was on the sidewalk. Five minutes later, Shearer was shown walking off the porch to his car with Miller shot.

The complaint said it appeared as though Miller wasn’t actively pursuing Shearer the confrontation.

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