SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Residents living near a Lake County Country Club said they’re being forced to dodge bullets from a nearby gun range just outside Mount Dora.
The range has been there for years, but dozens of trees that surrounded it were cut down recently, and residents think those trees kept the bullets out of their yards.
Jerry and Barbara Benedict said they were out by their pool when a bullet whizzed past their yard.
“It was that momentary shock, and you go, ‘What happened?’” said Barbara Benedict.
The Benedicts believe the bullets are coming from a private shooting range that sits adjacent to their neighborhood, about 1,200 feet away.
Mount Dora police and Lake County sheriff’s detectives visited the range and talked to the homeowners.
“And they were very up-front, very cooperative about their shooting activities, how often they shoot and where they shoot,” said Lt. John Herrell.
The range is legal. New state laws prohibit cities and counties from banning the discharge of firearms on private property unless police can prove the shooters have been negligent. In this case, authorities couldn’t prove where the shots came from.
However, the Sheriff’s Office said the property owners have agreed to fire in a different direction and build a bigger backstop behind their targets.
“I don’t have a problem with them having their Second Amendment and having guns,” said Jerry Benedict. “Just keep it on your own property."
The owners of the range could not be reached for comment, but the Sheriff’s Office believes there won’t be any more issues.
However, Country Club of Mount Dora homeowners said they will take their complaints to the Lake County Commission on Tuesday.
WFTV
