Security guard shot with pepper spray gun at Bridgeport YMCA
BRIDGEPORT CT Feb 6, 2022— One person was charged after shooting a security guard at the State Street YMCA with a pepper spray gun late Thursday, according to officials.
Police said they responded to the area of the YMCA around 11:30 p.m. for a report of a person assaulted with a weapon. Scott Appleby, the city’s director of emergency communications and emergency management, said a security guard called 911 and reported an occupant at the YMCA shot him in the face.
Arriving units found a man bleeding from his face and smelled pepper spray in the lobby and security office. Appleby said police and medics found the victim was shot in the cheek with what was originally believed to be a BB gun. He said the security guard suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
While preliminary reports indicated the guard was shot with a BB gun, Appleby said it was later clarified that the man was hit with a projectile that shoots out of the pepper spray gun that has the irritant inside.
Appleby said the incident occurred when the suspect, Billy Pettway, was being “disruptive” in the lobby and went to the security office window and sprayed a “pepper spray gun.” Officers later found Pettway in possession of the pepper spray, Appleby said.
Pettway was charged with second-degree assault, carrying a dangerous weapon and second-degree breach of peace. His bond was set at $60,000.
Fire units responded with fans to dissipate the pepper spray, Appleby said.
