• 2025-04-28 19:54:00
• Gun Violence

CONCORD, NH — A man from Concord is facing charges after an incident on Hoit Road on April 18.

Around 9:30 p.m., several officers were sent to a home Hoit Road between Mountain Road and Stover Drive for a report of a despondent man who fired a gun inside a bedroom of the house, according to an affidavit. The caller told dispatch they had since removed the weapon from the man, the report said.

Four officers positioned themselves outside the house as a woman exited. She was identified as the caller later, an officer said. A man was also standing within the residence. He was identified as Aaron James Knowlton, 43, of Hoit Road in Concord. The reporting officer asked the woman if Knowlton was the suspect and she confirmed he was, an affidavit said.

Three officers swiftly entered the home and made contact with Knowlton, moving him to a porch so they could speak with him, a report stated.

"As I was standing with him," the officer noted, "I observed the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Aaron's person."

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department and does not indicate a conviction.

Police asked about the firearm and Knowlton said it was a Remington Model 10, the officer wrote. When asked if it were loaded, he said he did not know and said the last time he used it was "multiple years ago," when he used it to shoot clay pigeons, the affidavit said. When asked if it was locked and secured, Knowlton was accused of saying it was not locked away. Later, the officer accused him of saying it was stored and usually had a trigger lock on it.

Knowlton was asked about the alcohol smell and confirmed he had three glasses of Bota Box wine earlier in the evening, the report stated. When asked, on a scale of 1 to 10, how drunk he was, Knowlton said he was a "bit tipsy," and said "3," the officer wrote.

The reporting officer began asking Knowlton questions about what went on that evening, which led to the gun being fired. He said he went to bed and heard the shotgun fall inside a closet, the report said. When he went to retrieve it, he described holding it "in a military port arms position," the officer wrote. Knowlton reenacted the movement twice, the officer said. He, however, "did not directly know how the firearm had gone off," adding "his right hand or his pants could have set off the firearm," the affidavit stated.

The reporting officer went to the second floor of the home and found "a large amount of debris" from a closet and a large hole in the ceiling, about three inches wide, the report said, or about what a slug from a shotgun round would produce. A second officer, performing evidence technician duties, reported a single hold in the doorframe on the top side of the closet and another hole, "much larger," in the ceiling.

Knowlton was requestioned and said while he "could be happier," he was not trying to take his own life. It was an accidental discharge, he said, according to the report. The officer and Knowlton also spoke about how alcohol would sometimes impair judgment.

Four juveniles were also at the home at the time the shots were fired, with the officer stating, "It should be noted that Aaron's poor mishandling and misconduct with the firearm could have led to serious bodily harm or death to each juvenile within the residence."

The caller was questioned by a sergeant and she confirmed she was nervous and in fear for her safety and others in the home after the incident.

Knowlton was charged with felony reckless conduct-deadly weapon, criminal mischief, and unauthorized use-firearm-firecracker. He was arrested and held without bail.

While he was being booked, the reporting officer measured the distance between the home and a nearby home. They found it was around 132 feet separating the two homes.

"It should be noted," the officer wrote, "that for Aaron to legally fire the firearm, he would have had to be at least 300 feet away from the neighboring occupied structure, unless he had permission by the chief of police."

An estimate to fix the hole from the shotgun was about $100.

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