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Gunshot mile away nearly hits woman
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - February 29, 2012)
Gunshot mile away nearly hits woman
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
As Brenda Mills, of Claridon Township, walked through her front door at about 1:30 p.m. Feb. 19, she experienced something that changed her life, she said. A bullet whizzed over her head, striking the hinge on the door and passing through her living room, where it ended up behind her couch.
Her first thought, Mrs. Mills said, was that someone was shooting at her.
"If I was a little bit taller, I would have been shot," she said. "If it had been just a couple seconds earlier, I would have been shot right in the head. I don't like guns, and this really proves it." Mrs. Mills said she had just closed her screen door and turned to see a hole in the glass.
Her husband, Leonard, said he was taking a bath and jumped from the tub when he heard his wife scream. "I heard her scream, and she never screams," Mr. Mills said.
No one was shooting at Mrs. Mills. The bullet came from a group of shooters off Taylor Wells Road, about a mile away from their home, Mr. Mills said. "It sounded like Vietnam," Mr. Mills said.
He said he was able to point Geauga County sheriff's deputies in the direction of the shooting, which had been going on for about an hour.
Deputies reported that they found seven individuals target practicing. "One .223 (caliber) round possibly skipped or hit a stone, causing the round to go airborne," according to the report. "Complainant stated she was nearly hit by round that entered metal awning, broke glass window of front door and came to rest behind her couch. Round matched ammo fired by seven individuals."
The sheriff's department reported that the shooters were acting responsibly, having an "adequate backstop" and not being under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Mr. Mills said he was a gun owner until his grandchildren were born, and he does not believe the bullet ricocheted. "I can't see it coming that far," he said. "I think they got a little careless."
He said a ricochet likely would have resulted in a lower trajectory. Mr. Mills he said he believes the gun's recoil caused it to be fired into the air.
Mrs. Mills said she was surprised that the bullet made it all the way to their home because of the heavy wooded area and other trailers in between hers and the shooters.
Mr. Mills said it was a "freak accident" that luckily did not hurt anyone. "We just thank God no one got hurt," he said. "Glass can be replaced."
Mrs. Mills said the shooters came to their home to apologize and paid for the broken window. "I was too upset to talk to them," she said. "I cried all day long, because I was scared. I had chest pains. It scared me to death."
Mrs. Mills said she will never be the same after the incident. "Whenever I hear guns, I'm going to cringe," she said.
She said she now worries whether something like that could happen again. Her grandchildren and her husband sit on the couch where the bullet went, she said. And her neighborhood is filled with children, she said. "I'm just worried."
Mr. Mills said he doesn't object to people having the right to own guns, but there should be a limit on the types. "People can have their deer rifles, but those high-powered rifles should be outlawed," he said.
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