Bellefonte-area man charged with attempted homicide in Centre County shooting
A Benner Township man was charged Thursday with attempted homicide in the shooting of his father.
Kyle J. Hockenberry, 28, used a shotgun to shoot his father in the leg Wednesday afternoon after an argument at a home in Worth Township, state police at Rockview wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Hockenberry “became irate” once he and his father returned to the home after drinking together at a veterans organization in Milesburg, investigators wrote in the charging document.
Each man told investigators the other blamed them “for everything,” police wrote. Hockenberry packed some of his belongings and began to leave the residence, but his truck caught fire at the end of the driveway, police wrote.
Hockenberry told police his father threw a rock through one of his truck’s windows and punched him. He grabbed a shotgun and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not discharge, police wrote.
He cycled the weapon and pulled the trigger a second time. The shot hit Hockenberry’s father in the left thigh, police wrote. Hockenberry fled on an all-terrain vehicle, but returned and was taken into custody.
Hockenberry’s father was transported to UPMC Altoona for treatment of serious injuries. He’s expected to recover, Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna wrote in a statement.
A defense lawyer was not listed. The Centre County Public Defender’s Office was not representing Hockenberry as of Thursday.
Hockenberry was also charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault and one misdemeanor count each of recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats and criminal mischief.
He was arraigned Thursday by District Judge Allen Sinclair, who set bail at $250,000. Hockenberry did not post bail and is detained at the Centre County Correctional Facility.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 10:25 AM.