To the Editor:

We have a well-organized group from Split Rock Road using 12/14 to take away our right to target shoot on our own property.

 A roofer was allegedly shot in that neighborhood by a stray bullet. That sounded odd so I investigated.

I quote the police report:

1/06/2013 10:57:33, Complainant states he received a call from roofer at his residence stating that neighbor who is target shooting had struck a ball in complainants yard. No injuries at that location.

 Police contacted target shooting neighbor, and that man followed police to the complainant’s property. I quote police report:

12:35:30, All parties exchanged their names and phone numbers with each other. Gilbert (the complainant) stated that he did not want to make a formal complaint regarding the fragments on his property and that he is happy with the outcome of today. No report required.

The story changes 18 day later. Police report:

1/24/13, 11:42:43, Gilberto t. Deoliverira (the roofer) stated that the bullet fragment hit the roofer as opposed to striking next to the roofer.”

 So we went from hitting a ball in the yard to hitting the roofer himself. I guess he forgot he got shot the day of the incident. The alleged injury was a bruise to the hand from a bullet. Right.

The Split Rock group formed a web connection, “parentsforasafernewtown.” So I emailed them. I asked Mr Poupon if the man that was struck by the bullet would be at the first Ordinance Committee meeting. He replied, “He was a immigrant working for a roofing company and wanted no part of this attention.” So the man at the center of this controversy is persona non grata. Imagine that. No victim. I invited Mr Poupon to view my shooting range in March but I have not heard back from him. I contacted the roofer and was hung up upon.

I wanted to meet the man who owned the shooting range that started all this controversy. So we met at his farm and he showed me his shooting range; 1,700 feet of dense forest and a 50 foot mountain cliff away from Split Rock Road. You could not ask for a safer range. And you could not ask for a more giving, generous, quintessential gentleman. He is actually moving his range to accommodate the needs of his ungrateful neighbors. Have they called him? No. You folks on Split Rock lost one heck of a nice neighbor.

Are we to believe a bullet traversed a 50 cliff, through many hundreds of feet of woodland, fragmented, decelerated just enough to not get lost but enough to hit a man in the hand (or was that a ball) to bruise him but not wound him. A physicist would put those odds at a billion to one.

Hearsay and innuendo aren’t admissible in court, nor should they be here.

Oh, didn’t that police report say “no injuries.”

Nicholas Barzetti

55 Flat Swamp Road, Newtown                    May 7, 2013