Rowlett Files Injunction Against Nearby Gun Range

Rowlett is moving to shut down a Garland shooting range after three incidents of stray bullets in a Rowlett neighborhood in more than two years.

The city and a Rowlett family filed for an injunction that could close Garland Public Shooting Range, which is about 2 miles away from the neighborhood.

Rowlett police had two separate calls of bullets hitting a home on Duchess Way and a home on Fair Oak Drive on Jan. 16.

David and Janine Bowman said a bullet pierced their 5-year-old son's room at about 7:30 p.m.

"It's just a parent's worst nightmare," she said. "The idea of a child getting hurt or killed, especially in a house -- it shouldn't happen in a house."

Police said the bullets were from a high powered rifle that could have traveled a distance.

"It's just scary," Bowman said. "Had they been playing in here, they would have been in the path of the bullet, and who knows what would have happened."

In 2010, a stray bullet hit and injured a man who lives on Duchess Way.

"It is a safety issue," David Bowman said. "One person has been hit. Who knows how many of the bullets have come down and hit roofs that people didn't even know about? There's just no telling."

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the 95th District Court at the George Allen Courthouse on Feb. 7.

"We'd like to be able to let the kids play in the backyard again without worrying about something happening that shouldn't be happening," Janine Bowman said.

"Ultimately, we want the bullets to stop hitting houses," David Bowman said. "If it's coming from the range, we want to see the necessary safety precautions put in place."

Garland Public Shooting Range said it couldn't comment on the matter because of the ongoing investigation.