Darrell Long was convicted after prosecutors said he broke into his ex-wife’s home, struck her with a gun and shot her multiple times in 2025.
LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. (WKRC) - A man who shot his ex-wife five times over filing for child support described himself as a "hero" in court.
According to PEOPLE, 62-year-old Darrell Long has been convicted after authorities said he broke into his ex-wife’s home, struck her with a gun and shot her multiple times on March 25, 2025.
Per a statement from the Lebanon County District Attorney's Office, the victim was taken to Hershey Medical Center, where she was treated for multiple gunshot wounds to her extremities, and she ultimately recovered.
When speaking to PEOPLE, Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said officers responded to the home after the victim, Dawn, contacted 911 to report that she was attacked by her ex-husband while she was taking a nap in her home.
Long turned himself in within hours of the shooting, according to police. During an interview, authorities said he admitted to entering the home without permission, possessing a .22-caliber handgun, striking his ex-wife with the firearm and shooting her multiple times.
“It’s not enough to shoot her. He wants her to know it was him,” Hess Graf told PEOPLE.
Hess Graf told the publication that Long shot his ex-wife once in the knee and again in her thigh while she was on the couch, which caused her to get up and reach for the gun. Long then reportedly shot her in the hand, resulting in the victim losing her left index finger.
“(Dawn) thinks she’s going to be able to fight back and save her life. And she kind of gets him almost like in a headlock and she throws him to the ground to the opposite side of the living room,” Hess Graf said when speaking to PEOPLE, adding that the gun jammed at some point.
“Somehow that magazine became dislodged. She sees him on the ground in the middle of all this chaos in the middle of her fighting back ... He’s beating and hitting at the gun, yelling at it, saying that it jammed. So, Dawn charges him to finally get it and that’s when he shoots her the fourth time in the right arm and that bullet lodges in her forearm,” Hess Graf told PEOPLE.
The victim then reportedly dragged herself to her bedroom and was shot in the right leg before she was able to contact 911 for assistance.
Police said the former couple had separated and formally divorced in October 2023. Dawn Long had blocked Darrell Long from contacting her electronically before the shooting, authorities said, and he had begun sending messages intended for her through their adult child.
In one message, authorities said Long referenced having a direct line of sight into the home. He sent a final message to their adult child 18 minutes after the shooting was reported to 911, police said. The message appeared to be intended for his ex-wife.
“Here’s the deal you get the house I gave you the cars no alimony your child support. I’m going to court Friday. I lost my (expletive) job. A good job. I have nothing you still control everything now life for a life. I take my life you live your life (expletive) up how’s it (expletive) feel? I’m a (expletive) human being. You treat me less than human being. I have no say I have no nothing. I can’t move on you move on you have all my (expletive) you have 60 years of my (expletive) life. Well guess what now I’m in charge. I’ll end my life now. You get to walk around every (expletive) time you cripple you get to remember me how’s it (expletive) feel there’s all could have been avoided, but you want to be a (expletive) guess what reap you so (expletive) You have no honor you have no humility. You have no dignity you took everything from me and treat me like I’m a (expletive) dog well guess what every dog has its day later / The gun is Danny’s my nephew. I stole it out of his truck.”
When speaking to PEOPLE, Hess Graf said Long has shown “no sense of accountability,” further stating, “The last two things that the jury heard (were) (him making) domestic violence jokes that every woman needs to be taught a lesson, that he’s a hero for doing what he did.”
“(That) he did what 99% of men wish they could do. He’s proud of what he did. He still blames the victim for making him shoot her,” Hess Graf told the publication.
Long was convicted of the following, per the publication:
- Burglary
- Aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury
- Aggravated assault causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon
- Harassment, a misdemeanor
In a statement following the shooting, Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf called the incident “a terrifying instance of domestic violence.”
“The Defendant broke into his ex-wife’s home with the sole intent of causing her terror and physical pain,” Hess Graf said. “The Defendant purposely shot the victim in a way to maim her and cause her to suffer for the rest of her life – a daily reminder of his brutal attack. We are thankful the victim survived and for the efforts of the Lebanon County Regional Police Department and our County Detectives in arresting and charging the Defendant.”
