Shot Hits Marine

A 26-year-old Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder Saturday after he admitted shooting bullets into the Swallows Inn, hitting another Marine in the chest, the Sheriff’s Department said.

The victim, Steven Arthur Strahl, stationed at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, was taken by paramedics to a local hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening, said sheriff’s deputies, who did not know his condition or whether he was released.

The shooting occurred shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, deputies said, when James Homrighausen and five or six fellow Marines were asked to leave the bar by its management.

While a few left and climbed into a van parked in a lot behind the bar, three stayed behind to argue with a bouncer, deputies said.

Within minutes, shots were heard in the rear of the bar. One bullet struck a wall, causing debris to fly that grazed the bouncer’s face. A second round went through a window and pierced an interior wall, striking Strahl in the chest.

Police found and arrested Homrighausen at a home in San Clemente and recovered a weapon believed to have been used in the shooting.