Charges filed in connection with shooting that injured Irwin man

A man was injured in a shooting late Wednesday that Irwin police believe was an accident, according to court papers.

He was shot in the face but is expected to survive, according to borough police and Melanie Jones, spokesperson for the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office.

A Greensburg man was arrested in connection with the shooting. Jason Powell, 23, is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment. He was awaiting arraignment Thursday.

Borough police and Westmoreland County detectives said in court papers that a group of people were inside an apartment at 11:30 p.m. at the Villages of Easton on Sweetbriar Drive, just off Route 30. Witnesses told investigators Powell had a handgun out of its holster and displayed it to the man who was shot.

The wounded man was taken by a witness to AHN Hempfield and later flown by medical helicopter to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, police said.

Powell fled the apartment and was apprehended by state police in Somerset County after Irwin police issued an alert for police to be on the lookout for him. Jones said he was taken into custody two hours later.

Powell did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 30. He was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison.