Jon Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald
Bullet takes out potted plant
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – A Graham County resident was taken aback the early morning of April 23 when she heard close-by gunfire and a bullet went through a window and a potted plant.
Officers were dispatched to the victims’ residence – located off Grandma Road south of Pima and west of Cluff Ranch Road – at about 5:25 a.m. Deputies with the Graham County Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Pima Police Department responded but no suspects were found and no casings were found within 100 yards of the window.
According to a Graham County Sheriff’s Office report, the occupant first heard gunshots in the distance and thought nothing much of it as the residence borders state land where target shooting is commonplace. However, she said at about 5:15 a.m. she heard some kind of knocking and/or movement outside. She said she began locking her windows and securing her house when she then heard two or three gunshots that sounded nearby and her window was struck by a bullet. The occupant said she then heard four or five shots from a further distance and attempted to call 9-1-1 but the call didn’t go through. She then contacted her husband, who called the authorities.
Upon examination of the scene, the bullet appeared to have entered from a steep downward angle indicating it had been fired from a great distance. After going through the window, the bullet hit a potted plant and then came to rest underneath a clothes dresser.
After interviewing the residents and examining the evidence, the deputy concluded the shooting to be accidental from a distance and that the residents were not targeted intentionally.
The bullet was packaged and entered into evidence and the residents were given a victim’s rights notification. There are no suspects at this time.
