January 6, 2014
An Orthodox priest places the badnjak on the fire during Christmas Eve celebration at the Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade.
His explanation to police? Merry Serbian Christmas!
According to East Pennsboro police Sgt. Steve Coverdale, the man is an Serbian Orthodox Christian, a faith that, this year, is celebrating Christmas on Tuesday. In celebration of his faith, the man stepped outside his home near the East Pennsboro Elementary School and opened fire with a resounding chorus of blank rounds from a gun, Coverdale said.
Naturally, several of the man's neighbors panicked, and reports of shots fired began coming into the Cumberland County 911 dispatch center just before 8:30 p.m. Police were again called to the same area for reported gunshots at 8:55 p.m. and 9:22 p.m., but after extensive search of the area, no evidence could be found of any illegal activity, Coverdale said.
Finally, after a group of officers responded to the third call for shots in the area, the man behind the raucous celebration was identified, Coverdale said.
"What we were told is that it is the Serbian Orthodox Christmas," Coverdale said, adding that the man had reached out to township police officials to ask permission to conduct his celebratory salvo on Tuesday, but was asked to do so at night instead to avoid alarming the nearby schools, the elementary school and the East Pennsboro Area High School.
"Of course, it would have been nice if that information had been passed along to those of us who would be working tonight," Coverdale said with a chuckle, stating that some sort of mixup may have prevented him from receiving the information.
No charges were filed and the man had taken his celebrations indoors as of 10 p.m. There was no danger to the public, Coverdale said.
Coverdale was not well-versed enough in the practices of the Serbian Orthodox Christian Church to discuss whether or not the firing of gunshots to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ is considered customary.
