Apparent New Year’s revelry turned into a headache for one Crescent Park neighborhood homeowner when a .22-caliber bullet shattered his kitchen window Sunday at about 1 a.m.
No one inside the West Crescent Drive home was injured, Palo Alto Police Sgt. Sal Madrigal said Sunday. The homeowner heard the noise from another part of the home and, upon investigation, found broken glass and a bullet in his kitchen.
West Crescent is located between University and Hamilton avenues.
Police collected the bullet but have not yet identified a suspect, Madrigal said.
By Palo Alto Weekly staff
By Palo Alto Weekly staff
By Palo Alto Weekly staff
A .22? Short trajectory. Look to the neighbors or a drive-by?
A .22 caliber round can go one mile especially if shot up into the air for celebration. With West Crescent Dr so close to EPA, I’m guess it came from there or east Menlo. Careless idiot with a weapon. And to ‘2nd Amendment’, there was foul. Shooting into an occupied dwelling is a felonly.
The Second Amendment preserves a citizen’s right to bear arms. On that I agree. However, it does not give anyone the right to discharge a firearm carelessly. That is simply a crime. As for “second ammendment” I find it hard to take him seriously, especially since he can’t even spell “amendment” correctly.
So .. speaking of EPA .. did the EPA police arrest anyone for shooting firearms on NYE? They certainly managed to get a lot of press ..
I am quite sure that the East Palo Alto Police Department’s press release on this matter was done in large part to discourage people from engaging in this type of behavior. Don’t know if anyone was actually arrested, but let’s hope that it minimized the potential impact.
Time for better gun control.
The people who do this typically have a gun legally. Felons are already prohibited from owning guns (a form of fun control) and they still get guns. Gun control doesn’t work.
Typo: illegally
Most guns that are owned illegally were once legally owned and acquired illegally. Tighter gun control would prevent a great deal of this.
@ Resident:
What type of gun control do you recommend?
I have no problem supporting the 2nd Amendment right to own arms for outstanding, law-abiding citizens who will keep those weapons out of the hands of children, unlicensed users or (of course) criminals.
On a personal level, I believe that gun owners should be required to pass a test for a USERS license (like driver’s licenses). In fact, it could be a part of the Department of Public Safety’s identification card (AKA driver’s license).
After all, education and proper instruction is the best way to keep such things out of the hands of children and thieves.
Nayeli
You ask a good question. I am no expert on any of this, but I can see that gun ownership is often something that is taken too lightly. There was an item on one of the news programs recently showing that gun sales in the Bay area were at an all time high and interviews of various people purchasing them as gifts. This sounds like it should not happen.
If someone wants to be a gun owner, then they need to be the one who purchases the gun and as you say needs a class to show that they know how to use it and store it. The ownership needs to be verified annually with perhaps an inspection of the said gun by the relevant authorities. Also, the price of holding a gun needs to be high enough to make someone think about whether or not they really need it but not exorbitant.
All registered guns should be proven that they are in the hands of the registered owners at least once a year. If the gun is stolen it must be reported straight away. If a gun is to be sold from one person to another, then it has to be done through a registered third party with experience in making sure that the new owner is as competant as the old owner.
I don’t know how the rules work at present, but since there is so much illegal gun ownership and use, the present system is not working adequately to keep the guns out of the hands of those who do not use them sensibly. Firing a gun into the air to celebrate new year is not a sensible use of a gun and anyone found doing this must be reported and prevented from ever owning a gun again.
The fact that so many guns are around in places like EPA shows me that the rules have to be tightened up dramatically. All the guns that are used for crime have had to have been purchased legally at some time in their history. What has happened to them since their legal owners first registered them is the black abyss. Preventing this abyss from forming would help reduce the many tragic stories we read about in the news everyday from happening.
Sorry about your window. Several years ago on New Years a bullet came through the roof of my lanai and grazed the side of an antique table. The roof has now been replaced, the table still has a bullet wound!!
In california a firearm legally needs to be transferred through an FFL (or dealer of any class) for a third party sale to occur. I personally think it is an infringement of my 2nd amendment right, and have gifted firearms out of state without paperwork. I really don’t get what is so hard to understand, it is our constitutional right. California is trying to suck you all dry, by adding more and more legislation that is not even followed. The current federal guidelines are more then adequate and require first time buyers at an FFL to take a DOJ and FBI background check. (in my state since I am a registered concealed weapon holder with the local police department, I am exempt with my CCW permit) Support the laws that are in place, don’t make new ones that won’t be followed. This could be a whole 100 page book explaining firearms in california (and there are books, so read one if you would like to know more). Afterall, who is really dangerous? The gun owner or the federal government? Afterall didn’t the feds “smuggle” all those legally bought arms to mexico, how much you want to bet some of the ones ending up in EPA are from the failed ATF operation to “track” stolen and illegal weapons, by giving them to the bad guys. Don’t make it harder for responsible adults to enjoy a constitutional right, make local and federal government actually play by the rules.
people are going crazy because people are self centered. everyone for themselves, greedy society.
Oh, in the 18th c people used guns to be part of the state militia, to hunt and to protect themselves. Hence, the second amendment. This doesn’t mean repeat rifles, machine guns, etc.
In the 21st c people use guns to frighten, kill, maim, provide cover for drug campaigns, to facilitate rape and rob.
Let’s stop guns, now.
The government can’t handle the responsibility of gun control and should have no say in the use of guns or who is entitled to own them.
I’m wrapping up 30 years in the Army, and I’ve seen plenty of unnecessary violence and death due to guns–owned and controlled by the government.