Conroe gun range owner defiant after a mom claims stray bullet flew into her home

CONROE, Texas (KTRK) -- A Conroe neighborhood less than a mile away from a gun range continues to get sprayed by stray bullets flying into their homes. Many people are afraid it's going to take someone getting seriously hurt or injured before something's done.

Back In January, ABC13 reported on neighbors in the Artavia Subdivision sharing pictures of bullets in their homes, backyards, and chimneys.

Just two days ago, a mother with an 8-month-old girl found a bullet that went through the front of her home.

"I immediately knew we must have been hit by a bullet and we tried to find it, and we actually did," the mother, who wants to stay anonymous out of fear of retaliation, said. "I would be absolutely devastated if something happened and we did not try to do something to prevent it. My husband, too, if he had been sitting in his office when it happened."

The subdivision is less than a mile from Thunder Gun Range, where many believe the bullets are coming. The subdivision was built about five years ago when the gun range was already there. People in the neighborhood said they knew what they were getting themselves into by living close to a gun range but never imagined they would have to worry about stray bullets.

"We knew there was a gun range," the woman said. "Obviously, we live in Texas. We aren't against guns by any means. Never in a million years did we expect anything like this from happening."

Many in the neighborhood want the gun range to have safer measures in place to prevent bullets from flying into their community.

"From what I know, there is not a lot of safety protocols there and supervision at the range itself," she said. "For bullets to be leaving the range and coming anywhere near here means people are shooting negligently, and I don't think people are shooting maliciously."

It's not just the bullets people have expressed safety concerns about. ABC13 spoke to two fathers who went to the range with their kids back in January and had to duck behind trucks as they heard bullets fly toward them. They told us management did not show any urgency.

"We piled up behind the trucks, we get the kids," Davis Smock recalled back in January. "We are hiding behind trucks. I am like, 'Dude, we are at a gun range, and people are shooting at us. I am like, 'Cease fire. We are on the shotgun range, taking live rounds. The guy is like, 'OK, I will look into it,' and he hangs up."

ABC13 spoke to the owner of Thunder Range over the phone on Wednesday about the most recent incident. The owner was adamant the bullets were coming from inside the neighborhood and didn't leave his range. He did say their line of fire goes directly toward the community. When ABC13 asked if he would change this just to be safe, he said no.

The mother, who recently had a bullet hit her home, filed a police report with Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office previously told us it is difficult to prove where the bullets come from.

"I understand they can only do so much, but they basically said it's going to take someone to get hurt for this to be taken seriously," she said. "Why are we waiting for something like this to happen to do something about this?"

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