Stray Bullet From Range May Have Hit Pet Lab
ROCHESTER, Minn. (WCCO) -- Safety procedures at a Rochester shooting range are being re-evaluated because of a dog. The Southern Minnesota Sportsman's Club is located near several neighborhoods and an incident with a stray bullet has raised concerns.
In his backyard near Rochester, Jack seems like a typical playful lab. You'd never guess that for the last two years, the 4-year-old pup was in pain.
"He was just looking at us like, 'Help me, do something,'" said Terri Wiltrout, Jack's owner.
The Wiltrout's brought Jack to the vet to look at a leg injury that wouldn't heal. That's when they finally figured out the problem.
"Shocked, it was a bullet," said Terri Wiltrout.
After looking at the copper clad, 9-millimeter bullet, which had no deflection marks, the Wiltrout's realized it probably came from a nearby shooting range.
"I would say 90 percent of us in the neighborhood have kids or grandkids or pets. And it's the first reaction that you have as a parent, that it could have been my kid," said Terri Wiltrout.
"Just want to improve, try to do something to prevent, anything that could keep it from happening here," Jim Riipinen, the caretaker of the Southern Minnesota Sportsman's Club.
At the club's shooting range, tires, wood pylons and hills keep stray bullets from leaving the property. There's even a three-burst limit on semi-automatics so the shooter can keep control of the weapon.
"I think it was carelessness on somebody's part," said Riipinen.
A gun owner himself, Mike Wiltrout does not want to see the shooting range shut down.
"I don't think one bad seed should ruin it for everybody," said Mike Wiltrout.
But he only needs to look at Jack to realize there is a potential danger.
"We should feel safe in our backyard," said Mike Wiltrout.
The gun club is considering new check-in procedures that would monitor who is there and for how long.
At the next club meeting, the caretaker plans to ask more club members to volunteer their time at the shooting range to keep an eye on things.
