Zachary Ludwig
NORTH COVENTRY — Authorities say a Spring City man, angered that his ex-girlfriend was seeing another man, illegally purchased a sawed-off shot gun and shot the man in the chest at close range. The victim later died from a chest wound at an area hospital.
Zachary Ludwig, 22, of Spring City has been charged with the murder of Nicholas Mruczek of North Coventry. The shooting took place on July 15, and Mruczek died the next day of his injuries.
“Love and anger can be a dangerous mixture,” Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said in a statement. “The defendant was angry because Nicholas Mruczek was in a relationship with the defendant’s ex-girlfriend. The defendant’s response was to get an unregistered shotgun, confront the victim, and then shoot him at close range.”
North coventry police responded to a report of a shooting at an apartment complex on East Schuylkill Road in the early morning hours of July 15. Upon arriving they found Mruczek laying on the ground, bleeding heavily from a chest wound. Police said that Mruczek’s roommate, Jason George, was attempting to staunch the bleeding. Mruczek was still conscious and able to speak with police, they said, and identified the shooter as “Zach” his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend. Later, police said that George told them that Mruczek had told also told him that “Zach” had shot him.
Mruczek was taken to Pottstown General Hospital, where police said, he again identified the shooter as “Zach L.” this time to Pottstown General Hospital Emergency Room nurse Jarin Collins.
After being stabilized, Mruczek was transferred to the trauma unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital, where he died the next day.
The girlfriend in question was not identified for safety reasons, authorities said.
Later on the day of the shooting, North Coventry Police Detective Thomas Barton and Chester County Detective James Ciliberto brought Ludwig in for questioning. According to the police complaint, under questioning Ludwig initially denied being the shooter, but eventually admitted to pulling the trigger.
According to the complaint, Ludwig was so angry about his ex-girlfriend’s new relationship that he bought a .410 shotgun from a business acquaintance and sawed off the barrel. Ludwig went to the apartment to confront Mruczek, concealing the weapon in a long, dark shirt and then fired a single blast after a brief encounter. Police said that Ludwig fled the scene and dumped the gun in French Creek, later recovered by authorities.
Ludiwg is currently in custody in Chester County Prison after failing to post bail. He faces murder charges, as well as other related charges to the incident.
