A Maine madman who opened fire at a Jewish summer camp earlier this month appeared to fire toward the basketball courts — sending the kids into a terrifying lockdown, according to court documents.
Nathan Hewett, 36, had long been a problem at Camp Modin, in Belgrade, before he allegedly launched the drunken antisemitic attack on Aug. 7, according to camp owner Pascal Cohen.
Hewett, 36, allegedly fired several rounds from a rifle near camp grounds, triggering a lockdown with children as young as 7, Central Maine reported.
Security guards put on ballistic vests and armed themselves to protect the children.
While Hewett was arrested over the incident, he has since been released on bail, with the neighbor and his father now allegedly harassing employees at the camp.
“Especially when he is intoxicated,” security guard Timothy Black wrote in a letter to the Capital Judicial Center.
“He harasses us by coming to the property line and screaming at us.”
Joshua Ewing, another security guard at the camp and former law enforcement officer, said Hewett was “extremely enraged and irrational” when talking with the guards on the evening of the Aug. 7 incident.
Hewett claimed that his tractor lawn mower had been damaged after hitting something, with him and his father allegedly blaming the camp.
After the confrontation, the two guards heard the shots being fired from a high-powered rifle, according to the court documents.
Kennebec County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the incident, with officials seizing 23 firearms from Hewett’s property, including semi-automatic weapons.
Shell casings were also found near the back of the camp, suggesting the shots were aimed in the direction of the basketball courts, according to the sheriff’s office.
Hewett was suspected of being drunk at the time and of having an antisemitic bias, according to the affidavit filed by police.
Hewett was charged with reckless conduct with a firearm, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, and discharging a firearm near a dwelling.
He was also barred from being within 1,000 feet of the camp and the property where he allegedly fired his gun, per the condition of his bail.
He was also banned from accessing dangerous weapons and using alcohol, according to court documents.
A hearing over the camp’s protection request is scheduled for Aug. 31, with Hewett due back in court on Nov. 10.
