A man accused of shooting through the side of a van and nearly injuring a child in the process was apprehended Thursday, December 8 following a traffic stop along U.S. 27.

Bobby Coomer, Jr., 31, of Monticello, was arrested by Somerset Police, with assistance from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, Ferguson Police, and Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement units.

According to Det. Lt. Shannon Smith of the Somerset Police Department, the victim–identified as Dale Ellis, also of Monticello–claimed that Coomer shot at his van Wednesday in Wayne County.

Ellis showed the bullet hole in the side of his van to the Commonwealth Journal, and said that he, his companion, and a two-year-old child were in the van at the time of the shooting.

“It went right by her head,” said Ellis, indicating that the bullet came very close to striking the young girl, whom he said was “okay” currently. “She thought it was a rock or something.”

The other side of the van had a dent in it, apparently from a bullet’s collision. Ellis described it as the bullet nearly going through one side of the van and out the other.

On Thursday, Ellis apparently spotted Coomer driving north into the Somerset city limits on U.S. 27 and contacted 911.

Smith said that Ellis had previously contacted the county attorney in Wayne County about the incident.

Ellis called emergency services while around Parkers Mill Road. The 911 Center kept local officers up to date, relaying the suspect’s position.

SPD finally made a traffic stop on the 1999 silver Mazda Protege Coomer was driving in the parking lot of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on South U.S. 27 at around 3:52 p.m. Officer Joe Criswell arrested Coomer without incident.

Sgt. Tommy Spencer of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department told the Commonwealth Journal that the two men were neighbors, and believed to his recollection that Coomer’s companion is somehow related to Ellis.

Spencer said that the two men had a dispute inside one of their residences on Ky. 789 Wednesday, and that the shooting occurred after this. Spencer said that Ellis reportedly got in the van and drove away, and as he was doing so, Coomer allegedly stepped out of the residence and fired at the van with a gun.

Smith did note that it was “suspicious” as to how Ellis happened to come across Coomer in Pulaski County, the fact that Ellis was “out and saw (Coomer) again.”

Smith didn’t know if Ellis had followed Coomer or not, but did wonder about “the chances of running across him in a neighboring city.”

The incident is under investigation. Coomer was charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.