Chances are you can shoot your gun in your backyard (check out the laws of your State) but you’re still responsible for where the bullet lands. In this case nobody died, but it got a man in trouble with the law.
KENSINGTON — Police have charged a Kensington man who was allegedly target shooting last week when a stray bullet shattered a window in a neighbor’s house and narrowly missed a young girl sitting in the kitchen.
Ronald Winfield, 66, of 7 Muddy Pond Road, turned himself in to police Thursday on a charge of negligent discharge of a firearm.
Police Sgt. Scott Sanders said Winfield was shooting at paper targets held on a holder with a 9 mm handgun but had no backstop to prevent bullets from leaving his property.
Winfield was shooting about 856 feet away from the neighbor’s residence at the time of the incident on April 22, police said.
“He thought there were enough woods so the bullets wouldn’t travel far. It could have had a catastrophic outcome, but luckily it didn’t,” Sanders said.
A 5-year-old girl was sitting at the table in the kitchen of her home at 4 Stumpfield Road around 7 p.m. when the bullet went through the window, Sanders said.
The family reported hearing a popping sound followed by shattered glass. The bullet went through a bay window in the kitchen and left a six-inch hole.
Sanders said the girl received a minor cut on her foot from the broken glass.
Police determined that the shot came from Winfield’s residence soon after the incident, Sanders said.
“He has been cooperative with us throughout the entire process,” Sanders said.
Winfield has also reached out to the family and agreed to take care of the property damage, Sanders said.
“The victims felt that was a good resolution based on the facts, and we felt comfortable with that as well,” Sanders said.
Sanders said the incident should serve as a reminder about the importance of safe shooting and having a backstop.
“We don’t want to discourage anybody from shooting on their property, but we need to make sure people are employing good, safe firearms tactics and they’re accountable for every round that’s discharged,” Sanders said.
Winfield will be arraigned on the Class B misdemeanor charge on June 12 at 8 a.m. in the Brentwood Circuit Court.
Source: http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140503/NEWS/405030326/-1/NEWSMAP
