On July 10, 2024, at 7:28 p.m., Deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of reckless endangerment involving a firearm on McAuliffe Street in California, MD.
Upon arrival, officers spoke with an adult male victim who explained that he was in his living room with his daughter when he heard a gunshot. He noticed a piece of drywall protruding from the wall behind the couch. Further inspection revealed two bullet holes in the stairwell walls.
Police contacted Sean Peter Fagan, 42, of California, who lives next door. Fagan identified himself with his Washington State driver’s license and admitted that while cleaning his Kriss Vector .45 caliber rifle, it jammed. In attempting to fix the jam, a round fired, penetrating his wall and entering the victim’s home.
Officers detected a faint odor of alcohol on Fagan. They observed that the bullet had traveled through four walls of the Buensuceso home, through a window, hit a child’s drawing board, and lodged in the final wall of the stairwell. Had it continued, the bullet could have endangered the child.
Fagan acknowledged that his negligent handling of the rifle placed both victims at serious risk.
Rather than being arrested, Fagan was charged by criminal summons on July 11, 2024, with two counts of reckless endangerment. The summons was served on July 23, 2024, and Fagan is scheduled to appear in St. Mary’s District Court on August 16, 2024.
