An Everett man is in jail on felony gun charges after state police say he fired a gun Tuesday into the air outside a Bedford County hotel where a group of Wisconsin activists who were involved in a Monday night shooting incident were staying.

Jeremy W. Decker, 43, was among several local men who approached the out-of-state activists in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn on Route 220, near the Bedford interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, on Tuesday evening, according to charges filed by state police.

Decker, who state police noted is a convicted felon and not allowed to possess a gun, is charged with felony counts of illegal possession of a firearm and carrying a gun without a license, along with misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct.

Decker was arraigned early Wednesday by Magisterial District Judge Kathy S. Calhoun and lodged in Bedford County Jail in lieu of $15,000 cash bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Hampton Inn manager had asked the local men to leave when the two groups started arguing. As the local men drove away, there were gunshots near the hotel’s entrance.

State police were called at 7:18 p.m., and after arriving at the hotel, troopers learned the incident was broadcast live on Facebook by one of the activists. Using that video, state police were able to get information about the vehicles that included license plates.

Six 9 mm bullet casings were found near the hotel’s entrance.

Decker and another man were in a truck that was pulled over, and multiple guns, including a semi-automatic 9 mm handgun, were visible in the truck, state police allege.

Both men were taken into custody and transported to the Bedford state police station while troopers also identified other vehicles shown in the video and tracked down others who allegedly had been involved.

One witness told state police that Decker held a gun through the open window of a 2001 silver-colored Dodge Ram and saw him fire several rounds into the air before he drove off.

State police said the video footage corroborated the movement of the truck, and when questioned, Decker admitted he was at the hotel and behind the wheel of the Dodge.

Monday shooting incident probed

State police are continuing to investigate a shooting incident on the 800 block of Lincoln Highway on Monday night where one of the activists was hit with birdshot from a shotgun in what state police described as an exchange of gunfire between the traveling group and a property owner.

Along with the shotgun, police recovered a 9 mm handgun at the scene as well as bullet casings.

Frank Sensabaugh, a Milwaukee community activist who also goes by the name of Frank Nitty, went back to the scene Wednesday morning and posted his conversation online with the property owner and his daughter.

Sensabaugh was there, alone, to continue his walk to Washington, D.C., one he started in early August to coincide his arrival with the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech on Aug. 28.

“It’s upsetting on both ends, because we don’t want to shoot anybody, and we don’t want anybody shooting at us,” Sensabaugh told the property owner and his daughter.

The shooting incident comes up in the first minutes of the conversation, with the property owner and Sensabaugh differing in their accounts of who fired first and the property owner pointing out the bullet holes in his pickup truck and garage.

“If he wouldn’t have started shooting, (his son) wouldn’t have shot back,” the property owner said, but as Sensabaugh tries to correct him to say it was the son who shot first, the property owner’s daughter shuts down the conversation.

Sensabaugh said he wanted to assure them no one from his group wants to harm them or burn their business or the Bedford County Courthouse down.

The property owner’s daughter then told Sensabaugh nobody wants to harm him or his group and they just want to be left alone.

Sensabaugh said the man in his group who was shot wants to forgive them and doesn’t want any violence or drama.

“We’re walking for peace,” Sensabaugh said. “We don’t commit crimes. I just wanted you to hear, personally from me, our entire group is not here to cause conflict.”

Sensabaugh said he doesn’t want anybody else to cause harm to anyone or burn down buildings on his behalf as he mentioned how area residents, some armed, surrounded the Bedford County Courthouse after rumors circulated online that Black Lives Matter activists were headed to Bedford to burn it down.

Sensabaugh blamed the police and media for creating the conflict. as he addressed state troopers who arrived as he was talking to the property owner and his daughter.

The troopers said they were there because of a call of a conflict, but after everyone assured them everything was fine, the troopers did ask Sensabaugh to move his vehicle from the shoulder of the busy road.

State police said Tuesday they were still investigating and Bedford District Attorney Leslie Childers-Potts would make any decisions on prosecution.

“Justice will be served through the police and the system,” Sensabaugh said. If that doesn’t happen, the group will be back to boycott them, he said.

“You have people who are scared and everyone operating out of fear,” Sensabaugh said, pointing out they have no intentions of hurting anyone. Still, he said they won’t tolerate someone pointing a gun at them.

“If you come out here and point a gun at us, you’re going to be dead,” Sensabaugh said.

Mirror Staff Writer Greg Bock is at 946-7458.