Posted: 7/6/2007 10:54:02 PM EDT
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Off Target Chris Woodard KTTC TV WEST CONCORD, MN -- It was the shock of a lifetime for one local man when he heard gunshots whizzing past his front door. Now a neighboring gun range has been shut down while authorities try to figure out what's going on. It's not a situation anyone wants to be in and now for one man it's a situation he's trying to make sure he's never in again. But the owner of a neighboring gun range says none of it was his fault. Dale Allen says, "I was sitting right here and the shell whistled by that door and went, clap. I said to Ruth somebody just shot out our door, I came to look and there was nobody there." He didn't find a shooter, but Allen says he did find more gunshots hitting nearby trees and cutting through long grass. "I was scared and I was upset and I have been a hunter and a shooter all my life. That's as scared as I've ever been." Allen is convinced the shots came from the Minuteman gun range just across highway 57. It's a charge the owner doesn't dispute, but says it isn't his fault. Owner Terry Campbell says, "This happened on a Thursday. It was non business hours. It was not a customer. I was not here." But Allen says it was one of the employees. Campbell says, "I told him it never should have happened, and it wouldn't happen, but he next day we were open for business he continued to make allegations that someone was out shooting at his house." Allen says when the counties planning and zoning director saw a bullet hole in his pickup, he ordered outdoor shooting be stopped at the range. When Allen made the additional complaints the business was shut down. Now he wants to see the 2 outdoor ranges removed and the indoor one inspected. Campbell says, "We've never had a complaint in our history until this one." The gun range owner says he's confident they'll be up and running again soon. Campbell says, "When we reopen, we'll reopen just like usual." Board members of the township that the gun range and Dale Allen's house sit in plan on looking closer into the issue. The Dodge County Planning Commission will also examine the range's permit during their August first meeting. Allen says he's confident they will make a decision he can live with. Updated: July 6, 2007, 9:02 pm |