This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

UPDATED: No charges in Royersford shooting incident

Police said Jolene Swenda of Phoenixville was defending herself and her dog from a loose pit bull terrier.

Update, Tuesday 12:07am: Police have said no charges will be filed against a woman who fired a .38 caliber revolver on Chestnut Street in Royersford on Monday evening because she was defending herself and her dog from a loose American Staffordshire Terrier (commonly known as a "pit bull").

Police said Jolene Swenda, 50, of Phoenixville, was walking her small dog in the 500 block of Chestnut Street when the 75-pound pit bull charged her. Swenda, who has a valid Chester County firearms permit, fired her revolver three times.

Swenda was in possession of a silver Taurus .38 caliber revolver containing three spent casings at the time she was taken into custody for the investigation.

Find out what's happening in Limerick-Royersford-Spring Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The owner of the pit bull, who police said owns two of the dogs, was said to be making repairs to his fence to ensure that his dogs do not get loose again.

The earlier story follows.

Find out what's happening in Limerick-Royersford-Spring Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A Royersford woman was in police custody Monday night after several residents reported that she had fired a handgun multiple times while walking down a borough street.

The unidentified woman, who appeared to be in her late 40s or early 50s, was taken into custody at a residence at 303 N. 5th Avenue in the borough at about 7:30 p.m. Monday.

About 45 minutes earlier, residents near the intersection of 6th Avenue and Chestnut Street in the borough saw a woman matching her description walking north on Chestnut Street, shooting what appeared to be a handgun in the direction of some dogs located in a resident's yard.

No injuries to the dogs or any bystanders were reported.

None of the witnesses interviewed for this story agreed to be identified, saying only that they were "neighbors" near the intersection.

"I heard the bangs and thought it was kids playing with firecrackers," one man said. "When I looked outside, I saw [the armed woman] and said, 'she's got a gun.'"

"She kept saying she was going to kill the dogs," he said.

Several of the witnesses said the gun appeared to be a revolver.

Two of the witnesses said the woman appeared to be accompanied by a small, unleashed white dog, "like maybe a Bichon Frise."

Estimates of how many shots were fired ranged from two to "more than eight."

A resident who identified himself as the owner of one of the threatened dogs recovered a red cell phone that he turned over to police.

About 10 minutes after concluding witness interviews, police converged on the N. 5th Avenue residence, where they took a female suspect (pictured) into custody.

Officers from the Royersford, Limerick, and Upper Providence police departments assisted at the scene of the alleged incident and at the site of the arrest.

An Upper Providence police officer at the arrest scene was overheard saying the suspect had a gun in her pocket when she was arrested.

After the suspect was handcuffed and placed in a squad car, an Upper Providence police officer remained at the door of the residence with his gun drawn. Another woman at the scene, accompanied by a preschool-aged girl, identified the suspect as her mother and became agitated.

"My son is in there [the residence]," she said. "Did you point a gun at my son?" she said.

Police explained to the woman that the officer had his weapon drawn because the charges against the suspect involved a firearm, and they could not be certain whether additional armed suspects remained in the residence.

Police declined to provide the suspect's name and would not confirm whether she was using live ammunition. Royersford Police said a news release would be issued later.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?