A Silver Lake man was arrested Saturday evening after allegedly firing his gun in the air and assaulting partygoers at a child’s birthday party.
The McLeod County Sheriff’s Office, Hutchinson police, Silver Lake police and Minnesota State Patrol responded to a residence on the 1200 block of 180th Street, southwest of Silver Lake, at 9:54 p.m.
According to the report from the sheriff’s office, the homeowners were having a party for their 3-year-old daughter that included music and fireworks. Their neighbor, Gerald Roy Zeik, 64, became upset and began aggressively approaching vehicles leaving the party, striking them with his hand.
Partygoers, including children, went to speak to Zeik. According to the sheriff's office, Zeik stated he told people at the party, “let’s have Fourth of July then, why do you get to shoot and I don’t,” at which point he pulled out a handgun and fired four shots in the air.
After firing the handgun, witnesses said he aggressively approached a vehicle with five people inside, including three children, with the gun in his hand and struck the vehicle with his hand. One of the children reportedly vomited due to the stress from the incident.
Zeik then fled his property and was discovered several hours later, approximately half a mile from his home, hiding in a cornfield. The county’s emergency response unit was paged to the scene and used a PA system to talk him out of the field.
The handgun was found near where Zeik was hiding and had four spent shells in the cylinder.
Zeik was arrested and charged with alleged second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and alleged threats of violence. His intake time was at 12:29 a.m. Sunday morning. The first charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, with three years mandatory, a $14,000 fine or both. The second charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.
