1 man shot in groin, another tasered in face following Harrison custody dispute

A child custody dispute in Harrison turned violent Monday night, with one man being tasered in the face and another getting shot in the groin, according to court records.

No one had been charged in connection with the shooting as of Wednesday afternoon, but a New Kensington woman who police said tasered the man faces two counts each of aggravated assault, conspiracy and reckless endangerment.

Jnarra Eilam, 25, was released on nonmonetary bond after her arraignment Tuesday morning. Online court records did not list an attorney for her.

A criminal complaint filed against Eilam said she tasered a man who had been involved in a custody dispute with her sister.

The man, who has children with the sister, told police that she wanted to pick up the children earlier than the 6 p.m. time scheduled by a court custody agreement, and the woman sent threatening messages to him throughout the day, the complaint said.

The complaint said that after the mother and two other women in separate cars showed up at his residence in Sheldon Park Apartments around 4:30 p.m., he agreed to meet the mother at the Sheetz gas station in Harrison at 6 p.m.

The man told police that Eilam began threatening him after the children were turned over, the complaint said.

The man said he was sitting on a stoop at Sheldon Park Apartments a short time later when three or four women got out of vehicles and rushed toward him as an SUV with men inside pulled up, the complaint said.

Eilam told police she lunged at the man and fired a Taser gun at him, striking him in the face, according to the complaint.

Eilam used the Taser on the man multiple times, pepper-sprayed and punched him, and then chased him behind a building, the complaint said. The man told police that he heard gunshots ring out when he ran behind the building, and Eilam said she stopped chasing the man when she heard the gunshots, the complaint said.

It’s unclear who fired the gunshots, including one that struck a man who had been sitting beside the man involved in the alleged custody dispute. The man who was shot was hospitalized in critical condition after getting shot in the groin, but Allegheny County Police said Wednesday that the man was “recovering and stable.”

Police declined to provide further details about the investigation. They asked anyone with information about the case to call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.

A preliminary hearing for Eilam is scheduled in front of District Judge Carolyn S. Bengel on July 7.