Picturesque Jewish summer camp quickly turns into nightmare after drunken gunman open fired on basketball court...where campers as young as SEVEN were playing

By LAURA PARNABY, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:49, 23 August 2026 | Updated: 20:49, 23 August 2026 A Jewish summer camp has requested an urgent protection order against an alleged raging anti-Semitic neighbor who fired shots towards their playing fields. Pascal Cohen, the owner of Camp Modin in Belgrade, Maine, has filed a complaint against Nathan Hewett, 36, who he said pelted the basketball courts with bullets during a drunken rampage on August 7.  The terrifying hail of bullets triggered a lockdown across the camp, with children as young as seven running for cover, according to court documents seen by Central Maine.  In his complaint, Cohen said Hewett fired about 20 shots towards the summer camp from a semi-automatic rifle following an altercation with security guards.  The camp owner said the horrifying display of his gunpower was the culmination of Hewett's belligerent behavior towards the camp which has allegedly been ongoing for several months.  Pascal claimed that Hewett intentionally distresses campers by blaring lights from his truck directly at people inside, setting off late-night fireworks, and firing his guns towards the property.  Security guard Timothy Black, who supported Cohen's complaint, said that Hewett is especially hostile 'when he is intoxicated'. 'He harasses us by coming to the property line and screaming at us,' Black wrote.  During the August 7 incident, Hewett allegedly fired his rifle near the camp while it was occupied by at least 400 campers and employees.  Nathan Hewett, 36, has been charged with reckless conduct with a firearm, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, and discharging a firearm near a dwelling. He is pictured above in his police booking photograph A Jewish summer camp for children has requested an urgent protection order against an alleged raging anti-Semitic neighbor who fired shots towards their playing fields. A rifle from the scene is pictured above  Nobody was injured, but the ordeal forced the camp into lockdown, while security guards donned body armor and weapons. Bullet casings were found in the basketball courts, according to law enforcement.  One of the security guards on shift, Joshua Ewing, said in court documents seeking the protection order that Hewett and his father, Raymond, who is also a neighbor of the camp, approached Camp Modin in the evening.  He said the pair were yelling and asking to speak with a camp employee. The father and son explained that the younger Hewett had hit something with his tractor lawn mower, causing damage, and he was blaming the camp.  Ewing said that he and his colleague Black calmed the older Hewett down, but Nathan became 'extremely enraged and irrational', and started yelling and swearing at them. Raymond told them he believed his son was dangerous, according to the complaint.  The father and son left the camp property, and shortly afterwards, the security guards were startled by the sound of gunfire from a high-powered rifle, they said in the complaint.  The camp was placed into lockdown, and Kennebec County Sheriff deputies rushed to the scene to detain Nathan Hewett.  He was charged with reckless conduct with a firearm, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, terrorizing with a dangerous weapon, and discharging a firearm near a dwelling. Hewett was held on a $50,000 bail at first, but he has since been released, prompting the camp to push for a protection order.  Pascal Cohen, the owner of Camp Modin in Belgrade, Maine, has filed a complaint against Nathan Hewett, 36, who he said pelted the basketball courts with bullets during a drunken rampage on August 7 Under the conditions of his bail, Hewett is banned from being within 1,000 feet of the camp, and he is barred from accessing dangerous weapons or drinking alcohol.  Camp Modin officials have said they also want to temporarily prevent Hewett from having any contact with their employees.  In the complaint, Black stated that Hewett had made threats against the camp before. He said the allegedly aggressive neighbor had complained about the noise levels of the camp, before saying that 'he has things on his property that are really loud too'.  Police seized 23 guns from Hewett's property following the August 7 ordeal, many of which were semi-automatic.  Deputy Tyler Johnson stated in his affidavit for probable cause seen by Central Maine that he suspected Hewett had an anti-Semitic bias, and that he was drunk on the night of August 7.  Hewett will appear in court for a hearing on the protection order on August 31, and to respond to the charges on November 10.