The Lethbridge Fish and Game Association has decided to reopen their gun range taking extra steps to ensure safety.
The range, which is located on the North side of Lethbridge in Peenaquim Park, was originally closed Feb. 9. The decision was made after a meeting between the Fish and Game Association and city administration took place.
City officials believed there were safety concerns after rifle casings were found in a northside residential area. These casings had been cited and documented from 2006, all the way to 2012, and believed by the Lethbridge Regional Police, to have been fired from the range.
In that six-year period police have investigated 25 bullet strikes. Fifteen of the strikes believed to have originated from the North side, nine from the West and one from the South.
A similar decision was made in 2010 after a stray bullet hit a minivan; the park was re-opened just three weeks later though. Police were unable to determine for certain whether or not the stray bullet did come from the range.
A 2010 press release issued by Lethbridge police said, “it appears to have ricocheted off the pavement before striking the van.”
On March 5 almost 300 members belonging to the Fish and Game Association took Lethbridge council by storm.
“We’re as concerned with the safety of the citizens of Lethbridge as anyone,” said Rock Blakeley, LFGA president. “That’s evident by our desire to solve the problem on or off the range.”
The two options given by city council during the March 5 meeting were to either relocate the range, a decision that would leave the range closed and would require about two years time.
Or, option two, the range remains open with upgrades made to the facility such as, upgrades to the camera system, additional cameras added and the banning of steel bullets from the range.
“We would hate for anything to happen that would injure anyone,” Blakeley said. “We don’t feel we are a risk but we definitely want to look into every possible outcome.”
Blakeley says that when the discussions were first brought up in February there were 182 members behind the LFGA. This number grew to almost 300 as the reality of the range closing became more foreseeable.