Police looking into bingo players’ dispute

AUSTINTOWN — A dispute between two bingo players turned physical Tuesday night at St. Joseph Church.

An 81-year-old Youngstown woman came to the Austintown police station Thursday morning to report that an 82-year-old Austintown woman had “purposely bumped” her as she was walking out of the food line at about 8 p.m. Tuesday at the church.

The bump knocked her back a few steps, causing her vision to blur, she told police.

The woman said she and the other woman have had disagreements at bingo in the past but this is first time any physical altercation has taken place.

Austintown Detective Sgt. John Myers said he hasn’t talked to the women yet but suspects criminal charges will not be necessary to settle the matter. He will most likely counsel the women to stay away from each other and seek out help from the management of the bingo game if tensions rise in the future.

Myers said bingo games at various locations have caused tempers to flare in the past — usually because a player sets up his or her game cards and markers and comes back to find that someone has moved them.

Myers said it is rare to find women of that age fighting at bingo, but he added, “It can get heated.”