LANCASTER, PA — The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office has filed multiple charges against a 40-year-old man involved in an officer-involved shooting incident on November 29, 2023. The charges, announced Saturday, include attempted homicide, aggravated assault, assault of a law enforcement officer, and illegal possession of a firearm.
The accused, William Oneill, a resident of the 100 block of Hershey Ave., remains in critical but stable condition in a local hospital under guard.
According to the report, officers from the Lancaster City Bureau of Police were dispatched to Oneill’s residence around 4:40 a.m. following a disturbance call. The caller identified Oneill as the individual causing the disturbance and reported he was outside the residence with an AR-15 rifle. The caller also claimed that Oneill had fired the weapon twice during the call, with officers reporting they heard the second shot upon arrival.
At approximately 4:46 a.m., officers arrived at the scene and heard another gunshot before encountering Oneill brandishing the rifle in the side yard area of the residence. According to police vehicle records, Oneill raised the rifle and fired at the arriving officers. Despite multiple commands for Oneill to drop the weapon, he refused and moved to the front of the residence, aiming the rifle at another responding officer.
Three officers returned fire, striking Oneill and causing him to drop his weapon and fall to the ground. A subsequent criminal history check revealed Oneill’s previous convictions for aggravated assault in 2001 and rape by forcible compulsion in 2008, legally prohibiting him from possessing a firearm.
The Lancaster County Forensic team conducted a scene examination and located empty shell casings and a live round in the yard area of the residence. The weapon used by Oneill was identified as a Ruger AR-556 rifle with a live round stuck in the chamber.
Body-worn camera footage from one of the officers confirmed Oneill raised the rifle to a shooting position while officers commanded him to drop the weapon, which he refused.
Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams will review the incident and make a formal determination at a later date regarding police use of force. The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office is asking anyone with additional information to contact them at 717-299-8100 and ask to speak with a detective.
Information, a criminal complaint, or an arrest is not a declaration of guilt. A suspect, arrestee, or defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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