Family's gun range sets neighbors on edge
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.range31jul31.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Darundel
Family's gun range sets neighbors on edge
By Laura Cadiz
Sun Staff
July 31, 2001
Deborah and Patrick Harrington say they hear the boom-boom-boom of gunfire from
their neighbor's property in Pasadena. They claim that bullets sometimes sail
through their back yard, and they keep their children inside when it's
happening.
It's a situation not uncommon in rural communities.
"The bullets whiz right through the tops of the trees," Deborah Harrington said.
"You can hear them."
The Harringtons said the gunfire comes from a shooting range a few acres away,
beyond some woods, and has occurred repeatedly since they built their home on
William Harrington Lane seven years ago.
The range is legal because it is more than 100 yards from the Harringtons' land,
the minimum distance allowed by the county from the nearest road or occupied
structure, police said.
Claudia Bullock said the shooting range was built in 1967 at her home on Waldo
Road so her husband, Larry Bullock, who is now deceased, could teach gun safety
courses.
Now her 42-year-old son, Mark Bullock, and a group of six friends use the range
about once a month in good weather. Claudia Bullock said the Harringtons have
been the only neighbors to complain.
Range is legal
Officer Charles Ravenell, a county police spokesman, said police have checked
the shooting range and concluded that it was legal. So Claudia Bullock sees no
reason to shut it down.
"If the police had told us to close it up and not let anyone do it, then I
wouldn't let them do it," she said.
The Harringtons said they have talked with police and the Bullocks and contacted
elected officials, but have not had much luck.
"It's ridiculous," Deborah Harrington said. "It's unbelievable that you can live
in a residential area and have people be able to shoot firearms."
Other incidents
The issue has come up before in the county and in other rural communities in the
Baltimore area.
A year ago, Anne Arundel County road workers thought they had come under fire
while painting stripes on Upper Pindell Road in Lothian. Police responded with a
helicopter, a squad of tactical officers and an armored personnel carrier - only
to discover that a woman was shooting at a groundhog on her property, which was
an adequate distance from the road. She was not charged.
In Baltimore County, White Hall residents complained in 1999 about a man firing
guns, including a 9 mm machine gun, on his 16.5-acre property. But the man was
not breaking any law because his land lies outside what is defined as the
county's Metropolitan District, making it legal to discharge a firearm.
Danger disputed
In Pasadena, Mark Bullock said thick woods separate the shooting range from the
Harrington property. He said he doesn't think the family is in danger, because
he doubts that bullets could reach their yard.
"There's no way it could happen," he said. "They're exaggerating."