SALEM, OR (KPTV) - The older brother of a young Salem woman has been arrested on assault and reckless endangerment charges after a shooting that sent her to the hospital.
It happened at one of the bottom units at an apartment complex off Broadway Street Northeast just before 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Nikki Apodaca, 18, was shot in the leg. She is expected to be OK, police said.
Five adults, a juvenile and a toddler were inside the apartment when the shooting happened, police said.
Apodaca’s older brother, Raymond Hernandez, had been drinking when he removed a handgun from his waistband, police said. Hernandez, 24, was in the process of unloading the gun when it went off, they added. A bullet hit Apodaca in the leg then got lodged in a bedroom door, they added. A juvenile was inside the bedroom.
Neighbors told FOX 12 that the shooting sounded like firecrackers going off.
“I tell him it looks like all these cops are coming down here,” said neighbor Jon Winner. “And he goes ‘Let’s go see what’s going on.’ So we walk outside, and there’s an ambulance pulling in right between the two buildings right there.”
In addition to the charges related to the shooting, Hernandez also faces charges due to a domestic violence incident that happened at the same apartment complex in December 2012, police said. Hernandez was also charged with a Salem Municipal Court warrant for failing to appear on a disorderly conduct charge, they added.
Hernandez will be booked into the Marion County Correctional Facility.
May 22, 2013 5:33 AM
