Close call for County couple

BY FRED LAWRENCE

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

A Burlington, Hants County couple had a close call after a rifle bullet shot through the master bedroom of their home on the evening of June 20.

Brad and Eunice Smith, long-time residents of the area, had just settled down to sleep at approximately 10:30 p.m. when they heard a loud bang. After a cursory check of the house and finding nothing out of order, the couple returned to bed.

In the morning, the noise they heard turned out to be from a bullet fired through their bedroom wall, several feet away from where the couple lay sleeping.

“We had just gone to bed and I was probably 90 per cent asleep when it happened, but my wife was still awake when we heard a loud ‘bang’ so we thought it was something falling from a dresser. We turned the lights on and had a look around, but didn’t see anything.”

Further inspection revealed what caused the noise. “Eunice called me at work and said she found Gyproc and a mess on the floor, and dust on the quilt rack in the bedroom.” Smith said when he returned home they found a hole in the bedroom wall. “I said it couldn’t have come from inside, so I stuck my head out of the window and saw the hole where the bullet entered the house. Ten minutes later I found the bullet several feet in on the floor and a few feet away from where we sleep.”

Near miss

Smith said if the bullet had come through moments earlier, it could have been lethal. “We could’ve been getting ready for bed because that’s where we sit to get ready, and it would have hit us for sure. One-and-a-half feet more and it would’ve hit the bedroom window and would’ve been a lot worse.”

The RCMP was called while Smith was looking for the bullet. “My wife called and they were here in about 30 minutes and there was no denying it was definitely a bullet, probably from a .22 calibre rifle.

“The problem for them (RCMP) is that all they have for evidence is the bullet. They looked around for an empty shell casing, but found nothing.”

Smith said some fundamental ‘CSI’ work indicated the bullet’s trajectory.

“We used a long knitting needle and slid it through the hole and determined the origin of the bullet. We suspect it was pretty close to the house when it was fired.”

Smith said he thinks one strong possibility is that the weapon used may have been fired from a moving vehicle. “I mean, they were obviously aiming for the house, and I think the window, but if it was from a moving vehicle it may have meant the bullet didn’t hit the intended target, but it’s pure speculation.”

Random attack

Smith said neither he nor his wife have any enemies and could think of no reason why anyone would want to shoot at their home.

“We couldn’t come up with anyone who would wish to harm us. RCMP interviewed neighbours to see if anyone heard or saw anything, but so far we haven’t heard a thing.”

Smith said, in hindsight, he has some real concerns. “The more we thought about it the more we realized that if someone was pissed off at you in the country, they would probably smash up your mailbox. What’s more concerning is that it could’ve been a group of young people out joyriding. People need to be aware this place isn’t as safe as it used to be.”

Despite the bullet hole in the wall, Smith said he didn’t take advice from concerned neighbours to ‘sleep in the back of the house’.

“We haven’t done anything different. We’re still in the same room and have no intention of changing. What we hope is that through public awareness, someone, somewhere knows something that could help find the person responsible. Something needs to be done before situations like this get out of hand. All I can say is thank God it was a .22 and not a high-powered hunting rifle.”

RCMP was unavailable at press time, but a spokesperson said the matter is still under investigation.