Residents want assurances gun range is safe - WZZM
GRAND HAVEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZZM) - Some Grand Haven Township residents want the outdoor firing range at neighboring North Ottawa Rod and Gun Club to stay closed until they are sure its safe.
"Rounds are repeatedly leaving the property and striking people and homes," says Cutter Park subdivision homeowner Jeremy Wilder.
On Monday night, residents of the Cutter Park neighborhood told Township board members they don't feel safe living a half-mile from the range.
"Safety measures in place at the gun club are clearly not sufficient," homeowner Jennifer Williams told the board.
The gun club voluntarily closed the firing range nearly two weeks ago after a man was wounded in the arm and bullets hit homes in the subdivision.
Residents say they have recovered at least 11 bullets from siding, roofs and roads.
Investigators say many of the stray rounds were fired by Grand Valley State University Public Safety officers taking target practice on the range.
"It was five officers working on close encounter drills," explains Undersheriff Gregory Steigenga of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department. "The errant rounds were caused by where the particular targets were placed."
But not all of the out-of-bounds bullets came from the GVSU officers. Some of the rounds recovered were fired weeks, months or years earlier.
"If the range is unsafe what steps does the township intend to take to ensure our safety?" Wilder asked the trustees.
At Silver Bullet Firearms in Wyoming, gun experts say it is possible to operate a firing range a half-mile from a subdivision.
"If everyone abides by the safety rules, it's perfectly safe," says manager and firearms expert Don Thurston. "But the only way I know to make sure a bullet never leaves the range is construct a steel dome that covers the entire range."
Without a court order, township trustees aren't sure they can stop the range from reopening. They say they hope to avoid litigation by collaborating with the gun club and negotiating a safety agreement.
"Until bullets can stay on that property, I don't see any reason why the pistol and gun range should be open," says Trustee Tom Jenkins. "Obviously, when the range is open bullets are escaping."
11 Oct, 2011--
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGrk_gqgHU98ld1bGxRDry_ooBO-Q&url=http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/182189/2/Residents-want-assurances-gun-range-is-safe
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