'Scared for my life:' Neighbor recounts moment bullet went through Iowa Colony home

IOWA COLONY, Texas (KTRK) -- Neighbors in Canterra Creek, a community in Iowa Colony, told ABC13 they felt like their backyard had turned into a shooting range.

"I was scared for my life. First time being so close to a bullet. I just want to have better for my family. I came out here for a safer life, but now I feel like I'm getting targeted with bullets, maybe now more than ever, maybe twice, three times a week," one neighbor said.

One neighbor who did not want to be identified due to safety and retaliation concerns said a bullet went through his home.

"I was so close, maybe two feet away," he said.

He told ABC13 that it all unfolded last Monday, and it sounded like gunshots galore.

"On that particular day, I really heard a lot of pow, pow, pow, pow on the fence," he said.

Minutes later is when he said it escalated.

"I heard a loud pow in my roof; a bullet came through, bounced off that wall and landed next to my pillow in my room," he said.

He's now attempted to patch up the holes outside and inside, but neighbors said he's not alone.

"We're having bullets flying in front of our house. We can't even go out and pick up our groceries because we have bullets flying right in front of our doors. We have young kids out playing in our neighborhood. What happens if one of these kids gets shot and killed? 'Oh, it's a gray area,'" neighbor Sarah Poole said.

Residents said they've reported it to Iowa Colony police, but said officers told them that they don't know who's firing the shots and believe it's outside of their jurisdiction, so there's not much they can do.

Neighbors added they understand gun laws, but want safety for their community.

"We need to be responsible with our guns and make sure we are not pointing at residential areas," Poole said.

"Be careful, you're being reckless; people die every day from bullets, from stray bullets at that, just - there's a range two miles away, go there," a neighbor said.

ABC13 reached out to the Iowa Colony Police Department and the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office, but has not yet heard back.

The commissioner for the area, David Linder, told ABC13 that people are also encouraged to reach out to his office.

The Property Owner's Association sent ABC13 this statement:

We take reports related to resident and community safety seriously. Communications with law enforcement regarding activity at a property or a business are appropriately handled by the individual property owner. Anyone who witnesses suspected criminal activity or believes there is an immediate threat to public safety should contact local law enforcement immediately.