Erie Man Faces Charges After Mistaking Cousin for Burglar in Shocking Home Shooting Incident

In a star­tling inci­dent in Erie, Penn­syl­va­nia, a case of mis­tak­en iden­ti­ty led to a fam­i­ly mem­ber being shot. Mar­quel A. Duck, 24, is now fac­ing seri­ous legal con­se­quences after fir­ing at his cousin, whom he mis­took for an intrud­er in his home.

Shooting Incident Details

On Fri­day evening, Erie police respond­ed to a report of a gun­shot vic­tim at UPMC Hamot. The vic­tim, a 19-year-old male, had been dri­ven to the hos­pi­tal by Duck him­self. Accord­ing to police reports, the shoot­ing occurred short­ly after 7:30 p.m. at Duck­’s East Avenue residence.

Shooter’s Account and Legal Charges

Duck admit­ted to inves­ti­ga­tors that he fired the shot out of fear, believ­ing a bur­glar had entered his home.

The cousin was struck in both the arm and abdomen, requir­ing imme­di­ate sur­gi­cal inter­ven­tion. As a result of this inci­dent, Duck is now fac­ing charges of aggra­vat­ed assault, among others.

Victim’s Condition and Ongoing Investigation

As of Mon­day morn­ing, updat­ed infor­ma­tion on the shoot­ing vic­tim’s con­di­tion was not avail­able. The inci­dent high­lights the poten­tial dan­gers of misiden­ti­fi­ca­tion in high-stress sit­u­a­tions and the impor­tance of prop­er home secu­ri­ty measures.