A Lewiston man was indicted Wednesday for allegedly shooting two people in the face with a high-powered pellet gun in Lewiston late at night on July 1.

Ahmed Mohamed Yussuf, 18, was indicted on two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsifying physical evidence. A conviction on each of the aggravated assault charges carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000. The other charges are punishable by less penalties.

Just past 11 p.m. on July 1, Lewiston police were notified of a 60-year-old man shot in the face in the area of Oak and Holland streets. The victim told police the shots came from an SUV, according to police.

About 14 minutes later, police were notified that a 34-year-old woman had been shot in the face near Walnut and Bartlett streets.

Both victims were taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston for treatment, Lt. Derrick St. Laurent of the Lewiston Police Department said at the time. Due to the severity of their injuries, both victims were later transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Yussuf told police he thought the weapon was empty when he started firing, according to a police affidavit. He also told police that when he pulled the trigger he was only trying to scare the walkers.

Yussuf told investigators that once he realized he had shot two people, he destroyed the pellet gun and threw it in a dumpster on Lisbon Street in Lewiston, the affidavit said.

He was released from the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn on $25,000 cash on July 29, a corrections officer said Friday.

He is scheduled to appear at Lewiston District Court on Sept. 22.

“While I am always happy to talk to the press after the case is over, I never comment on criminal cases before then,” Yussuf’s attorney, Stephen Smith, wrote in an email Friday.