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Man accused of shooting girlfriend at Commodore home

COMMODORE, Pa.,None — Police said a man shot his girlfriend at his home in Commodore on Sunday.

Police said John Reome threatened to kill Billie Jo Varner on Friday, so she left the home to stay with her parents over the weekend.

Investigators said Varner had stopped by the house on Sunday morning to feed her dogs when Reome opened fire.

"The bullet went into her side and pierced a big part of her intestines and broke her pelvis bone. They have to go in and do another surgery and she has a long way to rehabilitate," said Vaner's son, Brent Swanson.

Investigators said Varner was shot as soon as she walked in the door.

"Somebody in that family had received a message from the suspect who indicated that there was a litter of puppies there at the residence and he needed somebody to care for those," said Trooper John Matchik.

Police said Varner survived the shooting thanks in part to her 61-year-old father, who was there at the time of the shooting.  Investigators said Varner's father used his hands to stop the bleeding and wrestled the gun out of Reome's hands.

"[Reome] shot her with a shotgun and he wrestled that gun off of him," Swanson said. "[Reome] ran up and got another gun and he [Varner's father] wrestled that gun off of him as well. So if my pap wasn't there he probably would have killed her."

Investigators said Reome has social anxiety disorder. He faces attempted homicide charges.