A 37-year-old police officer in Pennsylvania is accused of trying to kill his wife and threatening to kill her children in their Easton home, authorities say.
Luckily, the gun jammed, according to police paperwork.
Ismael Segarra Jr. is facing charges of attempted homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, simple assault and four counts of terroristic threats in the domestic incident on Tuesday, according to police paperwork.
Easton police responded to a business on N. 13th Street after a woman called 911 to say her husband, Segarra, who was armed with at least one gun, had threatened to kill her and her children and was driving around looking for them, the paperwork says.
The victim told police the domestic dispute started that morning in their home on Chidsey Street when the couple began talking about divorce.
Segarra, who is a police officer in Allentown but was off duty at the time, became angry and stood in the doorway, first trapping his wife in the bathroom then in the bedroom, the paperwork says.
He then said “you’re all going to die,” said he was going to commit suicide and went down to the basement, returning with a shotgun, police allege.
Segarra told one of the children, “you’d better run,” then followed his wife upstairs, the victim told police.
He also said, “tell the kids to be quiet because someone’s head is about to get blown off,” police say.
He then pointed the shotgun at the woman and cocked it. She said she heard a “click” and Segarra said, “(expletive), it jammed,” and when he tried to fix it, she ran, the affidavit says.
The woman grabbed her three kids and ran out of the home to find somewhere to use a phone, because Segarra had taken her phone during the earlier argument.
Chadi Mahfouz says it was like any other day at Best Deal Automotive group in East until “I see this lady come in from the alley and she has like three kids, and she tell me please, please I need help,” said Mahfouz.
Mahfous says at first he thought the woman was having car trouble.
“She tells me please my ex-husband goes to the house, and he want to kill me and have like 2-3 guns,” said Mahfouz.
“Police come in here, she talk with them and she talk with the kids, and she sit inside. I give them water and I asked the kids if everything is good with them, thank God everything is good,” said Mahfouz.
Authorities found Segarra driving around in the area of Seventh Street, and he was taken into custody. Investigators also found a loaded shotgun in the couple’s master bedroom.
We spoke with the mother of three, who says she’s in shock and is trying to process what happened.
Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca told 69 News that Segarra has been removed from active duty, and the department will conduct an internal investigation.
Here’s Roca’s full statement:
“The Allentown Police Department was made aware of this off-duty incident and the officer was immediately removed from active duty. The Office of Professional Standards is conducting an internal investigation and the officer remains suspended. The incident remains an active criminal investigation in Northampton County. The results of the department’s internal investigation into the conduct will remain confidential.”
Segarra is in Northampton County Prison on $750,000 bail.
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