A Gwinnett County man faces multiple charges including aggravated assault after he allegedly grabbed a gun and began firing wildly during an argument with his wife, sending bullets into a home across the street from his own, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Saleem Hassan, who reportedly told police he is a retired New York police officer with 30 years on the force, was arrested Sunday morning after the incident at his home on Amelia Garden Way near Lawrenceville.
The family who lives across the street from Hassan told Channel 2 they were awakened around 3 a.m. Sunday by a loud noise, but it wasn’t until daylight that they realized their house had been struck by gunshots.
One bullet slammed through the walls of two rooms and two closets and over the beds of the family’s sleeping children. Another bullet struck the garage and shattered the rear window of a sport-utility vehicle parked there.
The family called police. According to a police report, an officer noticed two bullet holes in the garage of a home across the street and spoke with the homeowner, the 66-year-old Hassan.
The man allegedly admitted to police he was in a heated argument with his wife when he grabbed his gun and started shooting. Police immediately arrested him.
Hassan was booked into the Gwinnett County Detention Center, where he remained held without bond Tuesday on charges of aggravated assault and criminal damage to property, according to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office. Hassan also is charged with reckless conduct and discharge of a gun.
New York state officials told Channel 2 that Hassan served as a peace officer for the New York Court Administration from 1981 to 1986, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission from 1987 to 1995, and City University of New York from 1992 to 2002.
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