Tips sought on gunshot fired into DRW home

Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies said Saturday they need tips from the public to investigate a gunshot found to have been fired through the front window of a Deschutes River Woods home, apparently early last Friday morning, March 15.

No one was injured, but one resident of the home near Baker and Indian Summer roads heard a loud boom around 1:30 a.m. Friday, while another did not. The bullet hole was not discovered until around 2 p.m. that day.

The hole showed the bullet had gone through the upper part of a double-pane glass window, then a translucent window covering and into a sheet rock wall inside the home, said Sgt. Vance Lawrence.

Based on an investigation, it appears the bullet was fired from the general area of the Baker Road/Indian Summer Road intersection into the home, Lawrence said.

“It’s probably a random act,” Lawrence told KTVZ.COM, adding that their investigation had found the residents were not in any disputes they were aware of. “We have no reason to believe they were targeted or anything.”

However, he added, “It’s not a stray bullet. It definitely was shot from close by. It wasn’t something that traveled hundreds of yards.”

The homeowner “left everything as it was” and called police, Lawrence said. When it came to finding the bullet in the wall, “we talked about we could do it or he could do it,” the sergeant said. “He cut a couple test holes in the wall, ended up finding the bullet. It looks like small-caliber.”

“It’s horribly reckless, when someone does anything like this,” he said. “The danger of hurting someone is significant.”

The residents were not identified by Lawrence, who said they are “nice folks, common-sensical. Nobody wants to think about somebody firing gunshots into their home.”

Lawrence said deputies have no reason to believe the incident is related to other recent shots fired into Bend-area homes. Lawrence noted that police go out frequently on reports of people hearing shots fired, though in most cases they not only don’t find the culprits, there’s no indications anything was hit.

In fact, around the same time as Friday’s report, deputies were called out to an area north of the home on a report of shots being fired, Lawrence said. But he said it’s not believed to be connected to the incident, as it was on “the wrong side of the residence” whose front window was hit for the shot to have been fired from that area.

As the investigation into a likely case of reckless endangering continues, the sheriff’s office encouraged anyone with information that could help to contact them at (541) 693-6911.

You can also contact the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-877-876-TIPS or use the form on KTVZ.COM’s Crime Stoppers page. You can remain anonymous, and you could be eligible for a cash reward.