Shot through kitchen window

[crs]

Sorry to start such a horrible thread but have just had a quite a scary experience and am wondering if it has happened to anyone else.

I wasn't actually at home but my mother in law was feeding my baby daughter in the kitchen when she heard what she thought was a lightbult exploding above her. It actually turns out that something had been shot through the french doors, at about sitting-down head height. There is no sign of a bullet or a ballbearing but there is a definite bullet hole in the glass - and the glass ended up about 30ft down the hall.

The police have been - they are a bit stumped as they can't find any bullet or anything but as we are not currently involved in a gang (at least I don't think we are) they seem to think it's kids with some kind of ballbearing gun, just firing to scare. Which they did very successfully. Where they might have fired from is a mystery as our garden is pretty enclosed, it's all really odd and pretty horrid.

Has anything like this happened to anyone else?? we live on Barry Road, Lordship Lane side.

I'm sorry, I am not trying to scaremonger - I'm sure it is just kids, messing around, but they just don't realise how scary things like this can be.

thanks x

[Mick Mac]

Get officer McNulty on the case. Same thing happended on The Wire.

[Sue]

How awful. I would have thought it should be clear to an expert from the type of hole etc what had made it and where it had been fired from?

[cmas]

Not sure if this helps a few years ago I had my car back windscreen shot in the village (as well as about another 10 cars in the road )When I realised the police had already arrived and said it was kids with an air rifle shooting from a bus.

[KatsuQueen]

Yikes, that sounds so scary! Hope you (and your mother-in-law)are feeling OK.Sorry no helpful advice, just sending you some hugs because I know how upset I would be.

[Penguin68]

A similar thing happened to my parents many years ago - in the end the best guess was that a small stone had been violently flung out from a mowing machine and had gone through the window - although it's not an obvious time for mowing was there any other work going on where something could have been 'launched' inadvertently by machinery? Of course a (it would have to be fairly high powered) air gun could punch a hole through a window, do you have teenagers living next door or at the end of the garden? Are the French windows toughened glass or old fashioned small panes of non-toughened glass - if they are double glazed then whatever went through would have to be pretty high powered; most air rifles would be hard pressed to do that sort of damage, I would have thought.

Another possibility is that this was a stray shot from someone shooting at vermin, foxes or rats in a nearby property - in which case horribly careless and stupid but not actually intentionally threatening. Anyone licenced to shoot at vermin would normally be very careful, but I suppose an unexpected ricochet - the bullet hitting metal which wasn't clearly visible - could do the damage. But you say no bullet was found. But if it was toughened glass it could have punched the hole in the glass but 'bounced' back into the garden, not actually travelling through the glass and into the room.

Although obviously very frightening there may thus very well have been no 'intent' behind it, and thus little likelihood of repetition. I would hope

[louisiana]

That's previously happened in a house I lived in. Was neighbours shooting air rifle from roof of their house, down into our toilet and other rooms. Shocking and unpleasant.

[crs]

Really louisiana - that's awful. What on earth??!

Thanks everyone. Penguin68 - I don't think it's toughened glass and it definitely isn't double glazed so I do keep telling myself that it's just an air rifle. Just kids. No intent. Trying to stay rational and not panic.

it's just too bloody wierd.

x

[localgirlwithdreads]

Is there anyway that the person with the gun might have mistaken your mother-in-law for Liz Jones?

[brum]

I think you're right, probably kids with no direct malice intended towards you, just cowardly selecting targets at random. A very similar thing happened when I lived in Tulse Hill - a large pellet fired low through the French window into the lounge at the back, glass splinters everywhere. Luckily my one-yr old wasn't in the room at the time. Colleagues of mine (in the fire service) have been fired upon whilst fighting fires, and even in fire stations. There are some very unpleasant people around.

[cathg]

I was at home last summer when there was a large crash in the kitchen. A window had been smashed and there was a piece of apple on the floor. Given the position of the hole however there was no way the apple could have been thrown through the window from a neighbouring garden. The glazier was also flummoxed. The best guess was that it had dropped out of a bird's beak while flying at speed. Unlikely but the only viable possibility. We should have got the core dusted for beak-prints.

I hope there was no malice in the original incident here. Strange things do happen, not always with evil intent.

[Jeremy]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I would have thought it should be clear

> to an expert from the type of hole etc what had

> made it and where it had been fired from?

Somehow I doubt they will send the forensics over...

Probably kids with an air gun or slingshot. Scary, but I'm sure it's an isolated incident.

[Brendan]

It?s quite easy to determine where it came from, especially if there are only houses behind you and it couldn?t have come from the street. Just determine the general direction and then eliminate the houses that don?t have male children.

Well at least that?s how I got caught for it when I was a boy.

[Sue]

cathg Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> We should have got the core dusted for

> beak-prints.

>

xxxxxxxxxxx

:))

[legalbeagle]

Similar thing happened to me when I lived in Battersea - neighbours kids using our "for sale" sign as target practice with their air rifle, missed, and pellet came through bathroom window while I was brushing my teeth! Of course they never meant to hurt me and weren't aiming at the house but it was not a happy moment. Plus it turns out that bullet holes in a for sale sign can put off the odd buyer or two!

[milliemum]

Me too....years ago in Rotherhithe. We had small round pellet holes in the window which strangely didn't shatter. We thought it must be an air rifle. Horrid and unnerving.

[thexwinglessxbird]

That is terrible!

This also happened to my mum, when she was living in Crystal Palace Rd, years ago!

[Huggers]

any possibility it could have been a firework?

[Y'man]

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sue Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I would have thought it should be clear

> > to an expert from the type of hole etc what had

> > made it and where it had been fired from?

>

> Somehow I doubt they will send the forensics

> over...

>

> Probably kids with an air gun or slingshot. Scary,

> but I'm sure it's an isolated incident.

To guage where it was fired from you'd have to find where in the house the projectile hit. Draw a line from the place it hit, wall or whatever, to the broken pane of glass and continue it on out. This was obviously not a high velocity weapon (it would have caused more damage) so the sniper would be close to the target (within 50 yards say). If there's any chance this was a firearm, the police will call in a forensics team.

[Y'man]

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sue Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I would have thought it should be clear

> > to an expert from the type of hole etc what had

> > made it and where it had been fired from?

>

> Somehow I doubt they will send the forensics

> over...

>

> Probably kids with an air gun or slingshot. Scary,

> but I'm sure it's an isolated incident.

To guage where it was fired from you'd have to find where in the house the projectile hit. Draw a line from the place it hit, wall or whatever, to the broken pane of glass and continue it on out. This was obviously not a high velocity weapon (it would have caused more damage) so the sniper would be close to the target (within 50 yards say). If there's any chance this was a firearm, the police will call in a forensics team.

[Steph]

I think this happened again last night. My husband and I woke up at 2am to what we thought was an explosion or a gun shot.We are on Northcross...Was quite scary though we couldn't see anything from our window and didn't hear anyone pull of in a car or anything.

Weird.

[Steph]

I think this happened again last night. My husband and I woke up at 2am to what we thought was an explosion or a gun shot.We are on Northcross...Was quite scary though we couldn't see anything from our window and didn't hear anyone pull of in a car or anything.

Weird.

[TimmyBaggins]

Hi Steph, we heard this last night...woke me up! Think it was about 3.45am, I went to take a look but couldn't see anything from where we are. Sounded like an explosion. Be nice to know what happened on our doorstep..

[TimmyBaggins]

Hi Steph, we heard this last night...woke me up! Think it was about 3.45am, I went to take a look but couldn't see anything from where we are. Sounded like an explosion. Be nice to know what happened on our doorstep..

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Heard it too - I'd put it at 3.48 and 30 seconds! Either an extremely loud backfire or small explosion/v. loud gun report.