BARRHEAD – Someone could have been seriously hurt or even killed.
"It was about 12:30 in the afternoon when a bullet came through our living room window," Manola-area resident Brian Kuyten told the Barrhead Leader last week about a March 13 incident at his home when a bullet pierced the window, hit the TV stand and lodged itself in a wall.
At the time, his wife, Jodi, was watching television.
"Had she or anyone else been sitting on our loveseat, they could have been severely hurt or even killed," he said, adding at the time he was in another room.
It took a few minutes for the couple to realize what had happened, but after they recovered from the shock of the incident, they called the RCMP.
Kuyten said the police were dispatched and confirmed the couple's belief that it was indeed a .22-calibre bullet. He added that their home is quite a distance from the road, and as such, there was little chance that it was a stray rock from a passing vehicle.
The RCMP member also informed them it was the second bullet that had been fired at someone's home in the area that day, the first being a residence near Highway 777.
Kuyten did not want to hazard a guess for why someone decided to fire at his residence, but he believes it was deliberate.
He said it is not hunting season, and if it was someone shooting at an animal, the likelihood of them using a .22 calibre weapon is remote. Nor does he believe it was a stray bullet from someone target shooting nearby.
"I did not see it in any of the RCMP reports (in the Town and Country This Week or online, through the Barrhead and Area Crime Coalition or BARCC Alert). I wanted people to know there had been someone who was potentially deliberately shooting at buildings or homes, " Kuyten said.
He reiterated how fortunate it was that no one was hurt, adding just 50 yards from his living room window, there is an area where a group of six children play regularly.
Barrhead RCMP Sgt. Bob Dodds said they are investigating the incidents, noting that the Westlock detachment is taking the lead for the shooting near Highway 777.
He added the chances of them learning who is responsible for the shootings and why they happened are slim.
"We know there is a house in the Manola-area that has a hole in it, but as far as we know so far, no one saw anyone firing a gun or heard a gunshot," he said.
Dodds added that the chances of learning anything about whose gun may have fired the .22 calibre bullet is also low as the weapons are usually not powerful enough to score the bullets. He said he chose not to include it in his weekly media release because he did not want to cause public panic for something they had little information on.
"It could be anything, from someone plinking away at tin cans and inadvertently fired in the wrong direction, someone shooting at buildings, or someone was trying to scare, harm or kill someone," Dodds said.
At this point, he does not believe that anyone was specifically targeted or that there is any danger to the public.
"If it was a drive-by shooting, I would have expected to find more than one hole or bullet. Unless some more information comes to light, I don't know what to make of it," he said. "It is uncomfortable, definitely, but was there was any criminal intention we don't know. If any new information surfaces, we'll certainly revisit it but until then, there are not any avenues to pursue."
