A Pennsylvania man shot his ex-wife multiple times after she filed for child support, and prosecutors say he remains ‘proud’ of the attack

Darrell Long, 63, was found guilty of attempted first-degree murder after he reportedly broke into his ex-wife’s home and shot her five times. The jury also convicted him of burglary, aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and misdemeanor harassment. This case follows a terrifying incident on March 25, 2025, when Dawn, Long’s ex-wife, called 911 from her Lebanon County home after being attacked while she was taking a nap.

As reported by People, the Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf described the scene, noting that Long discovered his ex-wife sleeping alone on her living room couch. According to Hess Graf, “He finds her asleep on her living room couch alone, obviously no weapon, utterly defenseless,” and she added, “And it’s not enough to shoot her. He wants her to know it was him.”

The attack escalated quickly. Hess Graf stated that Long beat his ex-wife in the face twice with a .22 caliber long rifle before shooting her twice while she was on the couch. As she explained, “He hits her in the left leg, one bullet goes directly through her knee, lodges, and the other one is more towards the femur area of her left thigh.” 

She used her Apple Watch to contact 911

Dawn reportedly fought back, and during the struggle, she reached for the gun. Hess Graf noted, “He now has it pointed at her face. And she reaches up with her left hand and he fires. Thankfully, he hits her hand and doesn’t shoot her in the head, but it obliterates her left index finger.”

Dawn managed to grab Long and throw him to the ground, but the violence continued. Hess Graf described how the gun jammed, leading Dawn to charge him, at which point Long shot her a fourth time in the right arm. Dawn, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, eventually dragged herself to her bedroom to barricade the door. 

She reportedly used her Apple Watch to contact 911 for help. Long fled the scene, but not before locking the door behind him. Hess Graf believes he did this to ensure that if anyone arrived to help, they would be unable to reach her, stating, “He did everything he could to make sure his son would come home to a dead mother.”

Prosecutors believe the motive stemmed from Dawn filing for child support after the couple divorced in 2023. Hess Graf stated, “He gets the child support paperwork, and he loses his mind,” adding that it was his ultimate trigger for the attack.

In the month leading up to the shooting, Long reportedly sent 23 hateful text messages to his son about Dawn. One message, sent 17 days before the attack, warned that he had a clear line of sight into the home and threatened that his son would lose both parents if Dawn did not shape up.

Since the attack, Long has displayed a disturbing lack of remorse. According to Hess Graf, he has reportedly made domestic violence jokes and claimed that every woman needs to be taught a lesson. She noted, “He’s a hero for doing what he did,” and added that he still blames the victim for the shooting. While Dawn is recovering, she continues to deal with the physical aftermath of the attack, including a bullet still lodged in her femur. Long is scheduled to be sentenced later.