Posted on 05/25/2010 6:23:22 AM PDT by Second Amendment First
A bullet narrowly missed a north Boulder man on Sunday afternoon, as it crashed through a glass window, sailed through his living room and lodged in a wall.
The Boulder County Sheriff's Office is investigating the apparently errant shot.
Deputies on Monday canvassed the upscale neighborhood to see if any other homes were hit and interviewed the nearby owners of the Boulder Rifle Club and private property where people often target shoot.
Jeff Boxer, 61, said he had just walked up the stairs of his home in the 3900 block of Pebble Beach Drive when he heard a loud noise just after 4 p.m.
"I heard an enormously loud 'bang,'" Boxer said.
There were children playing outside in the cul-de-sac, Boxer said, and he thought fireworks might have been responsible for the noise.
He later walked down the stairs of the adobe-style home that he's rented for more than a year, and found a hole nearly the size of a golf ball blown through a glass window. Standing among hundreds of shards of glass, Boxer said he looked over and saw a hole in a wall across the room.
Boxer, a forensic investigator by trade who has experience with firearm ballistics and crime-scene analysis, cut out the drywall around the hole and found a bullet -- something in the range of a .30-caliber round.
"It was a nightmare situation," Boxer said, as he recalled standing in the living room just seconds before the shot. "I was in the direct line of fire -- the path of that bullet."
Boxer said a private shotgun range several hundred yards away from his home often has shooters, including the occasional rifle shooter.
He's also concerned that the shot might have come from the Boulder Rifle Club, which is about 1.5 miles almost directly south of his home. The western edge of Boxer's neighborhood lines up with the east end of the rifle range.
Neighbor Michael McCarthy, a father of four girls, said his children were playing outside the house on Sunday afternoon at the time of the shot.
"It was pretty astonishing to see that something like that could happen," he said of the errant bullet.
McCarthy said he's concerned about the gun club and others shooting so close to the neighborhood.
Sheriff Joe Pelle said Monday there are no conclusions so far about where the shot came from, but plenty of shooting happens in the immediate area. He said the rifle club, where deputies sometimes train, is safe as long as people use it appropriately.
"There's really no reason why a bullet should escape that range if people are shooting into the berms," Pelle said.
Grant Von Letkemann, president of the private club, said he's concerned about the shooting and that he can't discount the possibility that the shot did come from the range.
"It could well have been one of our members or a guest," he said, given the time and direction of the shot.
Von Letkemann said he was at the range until about 4 p.m. Sunday and that a few shooters were still hanging around when he left. He didn't see anyone using the 200-yard outdoor rifle range, however.
"It would have to be a high-powered rifle, and I don't think anybody was on the range at the time using one," he said.
He said he worries anytime a bullet is found north of the range because the club is often blamed for stray shots. He said shooters at the club are instructed on safety and range rules, but accidents can happen.
Last fall, Boulder officials briefly closed a section of the Hidden Valley Trail just north of the club after a hiker said she heard a bullet fly by her head. Officials later said the errant shot probably came from the Boulder Rifle Club.
A city report on that incident concluded that the club's "operations and safety procedures were appropriate."
Additionally, the city of Boulder's risk-management office found that "while still possible, the likelihood of someone being struck by a stray bullet was extremely unlikely."
The sheriff said federal rules give the club more rights than the surrounding neighborhoods, since it's been operating in the county for more than 50 years.
The area surrounding the range is also filled with private land in unincorporated Boulder County, where people are allowed to shoot. Discharging a firearm within city limits is illegal.
Boxer, who was left to sweep up shattered glass Monday, said he wants the county to ban shooting on private property and wants the Boulder Rifle Club to shut down until the investigation is complete.
"This is not the wild West anymore," Boxer said. "It's 2010. This is a neighborhood full of children. And frankly, if someone's 6-year-old daughter had been killed last night ... it would have been a monstrous tragedy."
Boxer, a forensic investigator by trade who has experience with firearm ballistics and crime-scene analysis, cut out the drywall around the hole and found a bullet -- something in the range of a .30-caliber round.
Tampering with evidence before the cops arrive to investigate.
"This is not the wild West anymore," Boxer said.
Shooting club (1.5 miles away) was there 50 years; he moves in and wants it closed.
Guy looks like Ed Bagley Jr.; probably drives a funny little electric car.
Experience-History: Firearms: 50+ years, Deployment, Ballistics, Nomenclature, Related Subjects
NRA-rated Sharpshooter, Producer of World’s 1st Firearms CD with Shooting Times
Medical Photographic Evidence - injury, procedure, condition Photography: 40+ years, Imaging, Equipment, Technology, Procedure, History Journalism: MJ, Theory, Practice, Investigation
Testimony-Evidence: O.S.H.A. Federal litigation on worker safety / Boston Globe front page - Boston, MA Photographic Evidence / Medical Litigation / Personal Injury - Los Angeles, CA Photography and Career Evaluation / Fine Art & Commercial History - Boston, MA
Firearms Use and Effect / Video Analysis of Crime Scene / Capital Case - Los Angeles
Firearm Deployment / Ballistics / CS Analysis / Attempted Homicide, Venice, CA
Firearm Possession Legality / State vs Federal Regulations, Beverly Hills, CA
Tazer Deployment / Evidence evaluation and interpretation, Los Angeles
Forensic Consultation: Dana Cole, Esq., Nancy C. Loeterman, Esq., Thomas Mesereau Jr, Esq.,
Paul Hoffman, Esq.
Photographic Production: Advertising/Editorial. Specializing in the concept development, direction, and production of print ad campaigns for medical imaging technology, entertainment,
health and fitness markets. www.jeffboxer.com
Clients: Siemens Inc., Polaroid, ITT, Elscint-Israel, E. I. DuPont, Bausch & Lomb,
New Balance, Psychology Today, Nakamichi, Ocean Spray, Broderbund, Kodak, Forbes, Rodale Press, VNU Publications, Fairchild Publications, Buena Vista/Disney, Profoto Lighting Sweden, Sekonic Light Meters Japan, Chimera Lighting USA
Concept Consultant: William M. Finkelstein, Executive Producer/Writer of LA LAW, LAW & ORDER, Forensic BROOKLYN SOUTH, MURDER ONE, NYPD BLUE
Guest Lecturer: Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara, CA 2006, continuing
Adjunct Professor: University of Colorado, Boulder 2004, continuing
Project: Concept Creator/Producer: “Multimedia Guns” interactive CD for Brøderbund Entertainment/Inroads Interactive. International Distribution.
Participation: S&W, Colt, Ruger, Remington, Winchester, Federal, Leupold, etc.
Award: ART DIRECTORS CLUB BOSTON: three consecutive annual awards
HATCH AWARD: New Balance Shoe campaign
COMMUNICATION ARTS: Silver Award, Polaroid Annual Report
Publicity: Featured Artist: PHOTO DISTRICT NEWS “Sports Fashion & the Fitness Boom" Featured Commercial Artist/Creative Director: Sekonic Light Meters, Japan
Featured Commercial Artist, Profoto Lighting, Sweden - 2008 Catalog
Featured Artist: Chimera Lighting - 2007-2008 Catalog
Published: “Essential Light Metering in the Digital Age” Studio Photography & Design
“The Lycra Marketplace, Trends in Sports Fashion” Activewear Business
“Straight Talk” Interview with Steve McCracken, VP Marketing, E.I. DuPont
"WAKE UP CALL- New Expectations for Forensic Accuracy in Today's Crime Writing"
March of Crime - Mystery Writers of America
Education: BA / Clark University / Worcester Art Museum School, MA
Boston University School of Educational Media & Technology
MJ Journalism - Criminology/Socio-Anthropology, University of CO, Boulder
Source:
http://theforensicexpert.com/references1.html
He hardly sounds like an anti-gun nut.
His CV seems extremely pro-gun.
Strange.
Guy looks like Ed Bagley Jr.; probably drives a funny little electric car.
_______________________________________________
So you post the guy’s resume? What? Was that part of the article too?
Stalking is a little extreme, no?
Move next to an airport and then complain about the aircraft noise.
Move next to a shooting range and then complain about the monstrously rare flyer that breaks your window — even if it is not only possilbe, but likely, that the shot didn’t even originate from the range.
That sickening sound you hear in the background is a thousand lawyers salivating...
Just googling the guy. Looks like he’s more into the journalism and TV consulting.
And, frankly, if Mr. Boxer had gone over to his neighbor's house and set it on fire with the family asleep inside, it would have been a monstrous tragedy!
(That little word "if" makes a big difference, doesn't it?)
So a .30 caliber bullet was stopped by a sheet of drywall? It must have been fired from a slingshot because even an arked shot would have penetrated deeper than that.
A very similar incident happened in San Antonio awhile back. The gun range was blamed. I think it was even closed for a few days, until the investigation found the bullet had not come from the gun range.
RESEARCH.
Quit bitching when somebody else does the work for you.
You are correct in the BS meter statement.
The article said “Boxer, a forensic investigator by trade who has experience with firearm ballistics and crime-scene analysis...”
Now, with all of that wonderful experience did he not use the old “hole and string” highly scientific method of direction detection by nailing one end of the string to the bullet hole in the wall and then putting the other end of the string through the hole in the glass and pulling it tight????????????
Kinda simple isn’t it and sure as hell will tell you EXACTLY in which direction the shot came from and what the trajectory was.
Yes, you are right.
Range 1.5 miles away. .30 bullet lodged in wall. The ballistic arc of a .30 bullet to make it that far would look like a rainbow. The bullet more likely would have lodged in the floor at the base of the window.
I doubt the range had anything to do with this.
Since a pro-gun POV rarely makes it into those venues, it would seem they take what he says and write/produce exactly the opposite.
Arked shot? Hauled in on a large, wooden ship? ;-)
A bump and a ping...
I ran a search on 3900 Pebble Beach Drive, Boulder on http://maps.ask.com and saw the bird’s eye view of the neighborhood. This home is a McMansion on a cul de sac. Id bet my 30 caliber it came up long after the gun club was there.
Yeah... Something isn’t passing my BS meter either.
Both spellings are equally unlikely.
>> “I heard an enormously loud ‘bang,’” Boxer said. [...] he thought fireworks might have been responsible for the noise.
>> He’s also concerned that the shot might have come from the Boulder Rifle Club, which is about 1.5 miles almost directly south of his home. The western edge of Boxer’s neighborhood lines up with the east end of the rifle range.
This doesn’t add up ...
Unless is was shot out of a cannon ... a single shot from 1.5 miles away wouldn’t have sounded like a fireworks from the street in front of his house. A shot from that far away would’ve been a distant pop, not a huge bang.
SnakeDoc
Boxer, who was left to sweep up shattered glass Monday, said he wants the county to ban shooting on private property and wants the Boulder Rifle Club to shut down until the investigation is complete.Here's a clue for you Mr Boxer: Don't build a neighborhood a mile and a half from a shooting range. While it is highly unlikely that this bullet came from the gun range, the gun range was there first. Don't build a house, move in, and then try to tell the neighbors that were there before you what they can do with their property."This is not the wild West anymore," Boxer said. "It's 2010. This is a neighborhood full of children. And frankly, if someone's 6-year-old daughter had been killed last night ... it would have been a monstrous tragedy."
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