# Bradford gun club drawing concern



## Foxracingmtnridr (Feb 23, 2003)

These people are morons plain and simple. Why move that close to a gun club that has been there since 1930 and then complain about it. Friggin scumbags. I bet ya one of the people in the neighborhood is a friend of the AG :evil:

Scott c:

Bradford gun club drawing concern 
Neighbors contend bullets are straying
By Meredith Goldstein, Globe Staff | December 5, 2004

Six months after a bullet was accidentally fired into a Haverhill neighborhood from a local shooting range, neighbors say they want answers about what has been done to prevent a similar incident from happening.

"I wish someone would be accountable," said John Joyce of Towne Hill Road, in the Bradford section of the city. "I think it's reckless to have anyone fire guns in the direction of this neighborhood."

On the other side of Joyce's cul-de-sac, through a section of woods, is the Haverhill Hound Rod and Gun Club, an indoor and outdoor shooting range that has been in operation since the 1930s. The club is about 1,600 feet away from their houses, according to neighbors.

Joyce and a group of Persimmon Woods neighbors say the gun club may be putting them in danger. They say that after one bullet was found on a local property and was discovered to have come from the gun of a Boxford police officer using the shooting range, they are concerned about being outside when the club is open.

"I don't feel comfortable on the back deck when I hear them practicing," said John Fayad, another Towne Hill Road resident, who said he found a stray bullet near a propane tank behind his home. "It never bothered me before, because I assumed that because the housing was approved, someone would have taken this into consideration."

Gun club management declined to comment about the situation. But Police Chief Alan DeNaro said the club has been cooperative about fixing any problems that might have existed in the shooting range's design.

He said the one bullet that was found at the home of Mary Devine -- the bullet that was linked to a gun used at the range -- came into the neighborhood because it ricocheted off a metal target.

DeNaro said the gun club is now using wooden targets, which would absorb bullets if they miss their marks. He also said the club has raised the berms protecting the neighborhood from the range and has plans to build an overhead covering for its outdoor range.

DeNaro said he couldn't be sure whether other complaints about bullets and bullet holes in the neighborhood can be linked to the club. He said that hunters and young people often use the woods that separate the club from the neighborhood.

"How do they correct the problem if it's hunters and kids target practicing?" DeNaro asked.

To date, DeNaro said the Haverhill Police Department has received only one official complaint from a neighbor, Mary Devine, which prompted the gun testing. He said in that case, because Devine found the bullet and called police immediately, the department was able to link the bullet to the gun at the range.

But Fayad said police visited his home twice for complaints. He called them last October when he noticed a bullet hole on the outside of his home and once again in June when he found the bullet by the propane tank.

As for holes in homes that appear to be made by bullets, or the bullet found by Fayad near his propane tank, DeNaro said the department can do little with the information.

"How would we know?" he said, of the origin of the bullet. "We don't know."

Sergeant David Currier, the Police Department's range master, said he has investigated the complaint and believes residents are no longer in harm's way. Currier has met with the local homeowners association, and said he will give his investigation results to DeNaro and the city soon.

"I know the people are pretty agitated over there," he said of the Persimmon Woods neighbors. "As far as the club is concerned, as a police officer, we utilize that range over there. Range safety is of the utmost importance."

The Persimmon Woods neighborhood is now one of two residential subdivisions to abut the gun club property. Development is wrapping up on a 14-unit subdivision at the end of Hoyt Road.

City Councilor Louis T. Fossarelli said that when the newest subdivision was brought to the council for an endorsement several years ago, he made sure that incoming neighbors would be notified of the gun club's proximity, not because of a public safety risk, but because of the noise.

He said he does not believe there is a safety threat to Persimmon Woods residents.

"As for errant rounds, I'm skeptical. And I'm skeptical that it's directly attributed to the gun club," he said. "I don't mean to minimize it. If it's happening, it's dangerous and it should be corrected. But I think [the gun club is] being very responsible about how they're going about doing this."

Fossarelli said the council expects to see a plan from the gun club to add a ceiling made of telephone poles to keep bullets under a roof, which would make the set-up even safer and would muffle noise, he said.

Still, for some neighbors, the investigation and assurances are not enough.

Joyce said he wants an independent ballistics expert to test the area and determine whether the Towne Hill Road homes are in the line of fire. He said that because Haverhill police and other neighboring communities use the range, having an independent study of the area would eliminate any conflicts of interest.

Joyce and Fayad both said that if the only bullet available for testing showed that ammunition from firearms at the range can reach the neighborhood, it is likely that other bullets have also hit Towne Hill Road.

"I really think there is a problem there," Fayad said. "They should have a third party say this is indeed now safe."

DeNaro said he will be satisfied with his own department's investigation. He said, however, that neighbors are welcome to pay for an independent study of the area themselves.

"I don't understand why the city would take upon that burden," he said.

Meredith Goldstein can be reached at [email protected].

© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2004)

Just like the knuckleheads that buy property on the cheap near a military training area then complain of noise or stray rounds. What's next? Should people in trailer parks in the south demand God stop tornadoes from forming in "tornado alley".


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## Philly (Aug 9, 2004)

How about the people who buy a house in East Boston, or Chelsea, then complain about the airport. Then we have the people buy next to rail road tracks, and piss and moan when the train comes through...I dont get it


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