EVANS CITY — An additional charge was added in a case against a woman who allegedly threatened her nephew's friends with a gun.

Free after posting $20,000 bail, Elizabeth Welsh, 51, of Jackson Township, appeared Tuesday in district court alongside her attorney, Patrick Casey.

Welsh entered the preliminary hearing with three misdemeanor charges, two counts of terroristic threats and one count of reckless endangerment.

Police are accusing Welsh of firing a pistol into the air and pointing it at two of her nephew's friends while trying to break up a party on a shared property.

District Judge Wayne Seibel held all three of her charges, and one new addition, misdemeanor simple assault, to the Butler County Court of Common Pleas.

Assistant District Attorney David Beichner said he believes all of the charges, including the new one, are warranted.

“This obviously happened during a dispute,” he said. “There were multiple people who witnessed the event.”

Casey offered no argument against the added charge.

Following the hearing, Casey said any time a gun is fired, it's a serious incident, but he noted it being a confusing event.

“This was a misunderstanding,” he said.

Only one person testified at Tuesday's hearing — Welsh's 20-year-old nephew, David Kraus.

Kraus said he hosted 14 people Sept. 4 at his grandparents' property with their permission and the acknowledgement of his cousin, who was watching over the home while his grandparents were away.

“I asked my grandma if I could be there. She was in North Carolina at the time,” Kraus said. “She said, 'Of course.'”

Kraus said the incident with his aunt occurred later in the evening, sometime after 8 p.m., when he heard shouting nearby.

“At that point, I was grilling burgers,” he said. “She seemed very angry.”

According to court documents, Welsh was angry over the use of ATVs on the property.

Kraus said neither he nor his friends were drinking, and they were using three or four vehicles, all with permission. However, he said his aunt confronted him over their use.

“She reached down at her waist and grabbed something out,” he said. “She said, 'I'm going to handle this myself.'”

Kraus said he followed as his aunt approached one of his friends, Trent, and pointed “something” at him. He said didn't think it could be a gun at first, but then his aunt pointed the gun into the air and fired.

“We heard a pop in the air,” he said.

Kraus said Welsh then approached another friend, Josh, who was at that moment riding an ATV toward them. He said he kept trying to tell Welsh that the people riding and the people on the property were his friends and had permission to be there and to ride.

“Trent and I are trying to rationalize the situation,” he said.

According to Kraus, Welsh then approached Josh on the ATV and pointed the pistol at his head. He said he believed she was standing about five feet from Josh with an outstretched arm, which probably put the gun around three feet from his friend, pointed directly at his head.

Kraus said a moment later, Josh hopped off the ATV, and his aunt drove it away. He said he tried to give her a hug and to further resolve the issue.

“It didn't need to be anything really,” he said.