PENN TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A 76-year-old woman in Penn Township, Westmoreland County, is accused of firing a gun at her nephew, missing him but hitting a nearby house on Cora Street.

Police said Vivian Covin fired the semi-automatic handgun at her nephew, Craig Smyzd, while he was riding an all-terrain vehicle near her property on April 19.

"She was up there with the gun like she was trying to aim at a moving target to get a second shot off," said Laura Crescenzo, Covin's cousin by marriage. "By then, I was already on the phone with 911. And he stayed on with me and told me to stay in the house."

According to neighbors, there is an ongoing family feud over property lines. Smyzd apparently put a stake in the ground and was planning on having the land surveyed.

Covin told police that she was so angry, she felt the need to shoot him.

When police questioned her, Covin said, "I wish I would have hit him. I hate him."

Covin is charged with attempted homicide and aggravated assault. She is being held in the county prison.

A preliminary hearing is set for May 6.

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