Welcome to Arrest Stories. A forty-eight-year-old Alabama man has been arrested after allegedly shooting at a medical helicopter he mistook for a drone, injuring a flight nurse with ricocheting bullet fragments. Here's what may have happened.
In the early morning hours of September seventeenth at approximately four twenty AM, a Haynes Life Flight helicopter was dispatched to an emergency medical call in Autauga County. As the aircraft approached its designated landing zone in an open pasture near County Road fifty-one, multiple gunshots suddenly rang out from the ground below.
According to sheriff's deputies, Peter Ellison believed the approaching helicopter was actually a drone and opened fire on the aircraft. Several shots struck the right-side window of the helicopter as it descended toward the landing zone. One bullet ricocheted inside the cabin, striking and injuring the flight nurse on board.
Despite being under active gunfire, the skilled pilot managed to land the helicopter safely in the pasture. The injured flight nurse received immediate medical treatment on scene from responding Autauga County Volunteer Fire Fighters. Due to the attack, the original patient had to be transported by ambulance instead of the faster helicopter transport.
Deputies quickly gathered information from the pilot and firefighters about the approximate location where the shots originated. Law enforcement swiftly moved to apprehend the suspect, with Peter Ellison arrested at the scene shortly after the shooting.
The FBI and Federal Aviation Administration were immediately contacted about the incident, as federal law strictly prohibits pointing lasers, lights, or shooting any objects including bullets and arrows at aircraft.
Sheriff's officials emphasized the serious nature of the charges. "It is incomprehensible that anyone would try to shoot at our heroes in flight that are there to save a life," authorities stated. "The public was never in danger due to their quick actions."
Ellison has been charged with shooting into an occupied vehicle and is being held on a thirty thousand dollar cash-only bond.
All suspects presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do not take this report as factual, always verify facts. Thanks for watching Arrest Stories.