Marion County home hit by bullets from neighbor shooting during target practice
OCALA, Fla. - A family is shaken up after bullets came crashing through their home, shattering a sliding glass door and a television.
It happened on April 6.
The woman, who spoke with FOX 35, but asked that her name not be used, called 911 immediately after she heard the shots, glass breaking and saw the damage.
Marion County deputies responded and discovered that the bullets found at her home matched rounds fired by an AK 47.
According to the report obtained by FOX 35, someone nearby was shooting at targets in a backyard shooting range more than a mile away – and some of those bullets were flying through the berms, or large dirt mounds meant to stop the rounds from going outside the range.
Between the home where the shooting range is located and the woman's home that was shot, there were several other homes.
Deputies visited the home with the shooting range and spoke to the owner. It turns out, the berms – designed to stop bullets – were not up to code.
"The berm compromised so it wasn’t as sturdy as it should’ve been, which is why the bullets were going through and ended up hitting this woman’s home," said Valerie Strong, a spokesperson for the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
She said deputies determined that the person shooting the gun had no intent of hurting anyone and was attempting to hit a target, but clearly missed a few times.
Because of that, no charges were filed against that homeowner as there was no evidence of negligence or that the person was being intentionally wreckless.
That homeowner was told to shut down the range and fix the berms.
As for who manages a backyard shooting range, it's a bit unclear.
The spokesperson for the Marion County Sheriff's Office said code enforcement would be the one to inspect the shooting range. However, a spokesperson for Marion County told FOX 35 that code enforcement oversees commercial shooting ranges on private property.
It's not quite clear if this was a commercial shooting range or someone shooting firearms on their private property.
"The county does not govern the shooting of firearms on private property. Code enforcement would only be involved after receiving a request to investigate commercial uses on private property," a spokesperson for Marion County said in a statement.
The sheriff's office said if someone came back to shoot on the property before those berms are fixed, that could be considered negligent, which could then involve charges being possibly filed.
