HARRISBURG, PA — A Bloomsburg man was sentenced Thursday to 13 to 26 years in state prison after being convicted of opening fire outside a Mount Carmel bar in 2022, an incident that prosecutors said endangered residents and wounded a neighbor following a dispute over loud music.
Attorney General Dave Sunday stated that Bruce Thompson, 40, received the sentence from a Northumberland County judge after a jury convicted him of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, carrying a firearm without a license, recklessly endangering another person, and fleeing and eluding police.
On Thursday, Thompson also pleaded guilty to a charge of persons not to possess a firearm because of a prior felony robbery conviction. The court imposed sentence on all charges the same day.
According to prosecutors, Thompson had been inside a Mount Carmel bar before returning to his vehicle and playing loud music. Court testimony indicated a nearby resident asked him to lower the volume, after which Thompson allegedly fired multiple shots.
Prosecutors said the gunfire struck a nearby occupied home, where children were sleeping, before a neighbor was also shot.
“This defendant recklessly opened fire, striking a nearby home where children slept inside, before shooting a neighbor,” Sunday stated after sentencing.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Julia Van Leeuwen.
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