Police: New Castle man survives suicide attempt as officers go to make arrest

Police said a New Castle man tried to kill himself with a shotgun after they surrounded his house to arrest him for allegedly sexually assaulting a child.

City police went to a home in the 200 block of Park Avenue shortly before 3 a.m. Aug. 25 to arrest Stephen Karenbaur for the “sexual assault of at least one and possibly more children under the age of 12 years old,” police wrote in a news release announcing the arrest. Karenbaur’s age was not released.

Police said they received evidence of the assault from the victim and also were able to view video evidence.

Officers set up a perimeter around the house and knocked on the door to take Karenbaur into custody, but he was spotted running to the home’s upper level before a gunshot rang out.

Police said Karenbaur shot himself once in the face with a 12-gauge shotgun and was transported to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio, for treatment of non-life threatening injures.

Karenbaur faces charges of rape of a child, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and two counts of indecent assault of a child.

New Castle police said they are investigating whether other victims may have been assaulted by Karenbaur.