A man who was shot on the deck of an Allegheny Township home is in critical condition, a spokeswoman at the Altoona Regional Health System said Monday evening.
Releasing any more information about the investigation into what happened early Saturday on the 200 block of Cunningham Lane, a private drive off Burns Avenue, would be premature until investigators have a chance to speak with the gunshot victim, Allegheny Township police said.
"We haven't had medical clearance to talk to the victim," said Allegheny Township Chief P. Richard Books, who added police were told the man was stable but would not be able to speak with them until later in the week.
"There's nothing for [the public] to be alarmed about," said Books, who noted that the shooting was an isolated incident.
According to the police department's complaint log for the weekend, the incident was classified as a "trespassing/unwanted trespassing-shooting." It appears that the homeowner didn't know the man, Books said.
Books said Saturday the man was shot by a homeowner with a .22-caliber gun about 12:10 a.m. after he was on the deck of a home and banging on a back window demanding entrance to the home. Books declined to say why the gunshot victim was at the home but said the homeowner was frightened.
Multiple shots were fired, but Books wouldn't say how many.
Between two and four shots were fired by the homeowner, but until police have access to the man's medical records, Books said it would be inappropriate to say how many times he was hit.
As of Monday, no charges have been filed in connection with the incident, one that likely falls under the state's updated Castle Doctrine.
The doctrine states the common-law presumption that a person's home is his castle and that people can protect themselves from intruders without fear of civil or criminal prosecution.
The changes enacted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Tom Corbett last year extend that right to not just inside the home, but outside it as well, and eliminates the need to retreat before using lethal force.
Blair County Deputy District Attorney Wade Kagarise said Monday that while he couldn't comment on anything specifically related to the Allegheny Township shooting, he pointed out that the protections to the homeowner under the expanded Castle Doctrine aren't new.
But the law provides more clarity to the people's rights to protect themselves and their property, rights he said people already had.
"It created certain presumptions if people were in certain circumstances or certain situations," Kagarise said. "The Castle Doctrine kind of gave them some protections that would have to be overcome by the government and law enforcement if they believed the actions were unreasonable."
Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7458.
