ZACH Theatre
Bullets That Go Up Must Come Down – Even on New Year's Eve
RECEIVED Tue., Jan. 3, 2012
Dear Editor,
This morning I went outside to put a little bit of seed in my bird feeder. On the ground about a foot from my side doorstep was something sort of unusual looking, so I picked it up to see what it was. As I looked at it, the realization slowly sunk in that I was looking at the nylon shot carrier from a 12-gauge shotgun. These come out the end of the barrel when a round is fired. These shot carriers don't travel very far and there was only one way that it got in my backyard. Someone had to have discharged a round from a 12-gauge relatively close to my home. As I looked at it, I tried to convince myself that it was part of a high-dollar firework, but inside the shot carrier you could see all the impressions left by the shot. I know it was New Year's Eve and all and there were a lot of fireworks going off, but I did hear eight rounds from a semi-automatic pistol and I do remember hearing what I swore at the time were three rounds from a semi-automatic shotgun.
Folks, we live in a very high-density urban area. When someone fires a round into the air, it doesn't just keep going. At some point it comes back down. One of those rounds could have killed children sleeping in their beds, in their own bedrooms. I keep thinking of my next-door neighbors, their kids and elderly grandparents. I know it's a long chance but one of those bullets could just as easily have injured or killed any one of them.
Somehow, it just scares the crap out of me to think someone, most likely a resident of Montopolis, could be that thoughtless and that careless.
I guess that's it. I just hope if you know who made that irresponsible choice, you will at least ask them to think about the potential consequences of their actions.
I did make a police report and was surprised when someone from the Austin Police Department came out to pick up the shot carrier. The officer even wanted to see the spot where I found it. Apparently they take it seriously. I think as a neighborhood we should too.
This morning I went outside to put a little bit of seed in my bird feeder. On the ground about a foot from my side doorstep was something sort of unusual looking, so I picked it up to see what it was. As I looked at it, the realization slowly sunk in that I was looking at the nylon shot carrier from a 12-gauge shotgun. These come out the end of the barrel when a round is fired. These shot carriers don't travel very far and there was only one way that it got in my backyard. Someone had to have discharged a round from a 12-gauge relatively close to my home. As I looked at it, I tried to convince myself that it was part of a high-dollar firework, but inside the shot carrier you could see all the impressions left by the shot. I know it was New Year's Eve and all and there were a lot of fireworks going off, but I did hear eight rounds from a semi-automatic pistol and I do remember hearing what I swore at the time were three rounds from a semi-automatic shotgun.
Folks, we live in a very high-density urban area. When someone fires a round into the air, it doesn't just keep going. At some point it comes back down. One of those rounds could have killed children sleeping in their beds, in their own bedrooms. I keep thinking of my next-door neighbors, their kids and elderly grandparents. I know it's a long chance but one of those bullets could just as easily have injured or killed any one of them.
Somehow, it just scares the crap out of me to think someone, most likely a resident of Montopolis, could be that thoughtless and that careless.
I guess that's it. I just hope if you know who made that irresponsible choice, you will at least ask them to think about the potential consequences of their actions.
I did make a police report and was surprised when someone from the Austin Police Department came out to pick up the shot carrier. The officer even wanted to see the spot where I found it. Apparently they take it seriously. I think as a neighborhood we should too.
Thanks and Happy New Year,
Delwin Goss
Delwin Goss