WILLIAMSON CO., Ill.—Owners of a popular gun range in Marion have lost an opportunity to avoid court action in the case of a shooting incident occurring last week, this by refusing to cease firing in the direction where the incident took place.
From Tombstone’s website
The incident, which took place at Tombstone Gun Range on the west side of town last Wednesday, February 19, was initially reported to Disclosure as one in which “no one was injured,” but we later learned that wasn’t exactly true, as you can read here, and listen to here.
Tonight, we’ve learned what the true facts were in the case.
International Union Of Operating Engineers’ Rick Hilliard advised that one of his employees at the IUOE, a second-year apprentice, was in the process of being trained on getting grade stakes in the ground. She was on a crane pad, and three men were firing at Tombstone and in the direction of the IUOE property, when a .223 high-velocity round went through the fatty part of the apprentice’s chin. It was described as “clean in/clean out,” not striking any bone structure in her face, and was, according to a doctor, a full bullet, not a fragment. A man who was three feet away from the apprentice said he heard the “zing” as the bullet went by; there was no machinery running, as is usually the case when training is going on and when bullets are being fired, so it was easy to hear this time. Worst of all, while searching for the bullet that pierced the apprentice’s chin, those on Union premises found a .762 fragment, so they believe this is not an isolated incident and that there is a significant hazard situation for those training at Union premises as posed by Tombstone users.
From Tombstone’s website
Hilliard said he contacted the owners of the range, David Kemp and JD Barter, and asked them to cease firing in the direction of the Union premises until they could sort out some safety procedures in order to keep such a thing from happening again. They advised that this wasn’t going to happen…so as of tonight, Hilliard has contacted his attorney, and is taking the range to court on Thursday (tomorrow) in order to get a temporary restraining order on the range issued by a judge.
Disclosure has been looking into the reasoning as to why law enforcement lied about the incident last week. We came upon a couple of facts: The range is one of the primary ones in the area used by law enforcement, and local reviled attorney Ron Osmon’s son is said to be a silent owner in the business.
Hilliard said he was disturbed that there are few regulations for gun ranges, and advised that his premises aren’t the only area potentially facing danger. He said there’s less distance between the facility and Crenshaw Road, to the south, than there is toward Union property to the north…and that Crenshaw Road is a heavily traveled route, and has no berms to block the bullets.
Further, as it turned out, the three who were shooting on the day the apprentice was hit were shooting over a body of water, something that’s reportedly illegal on a federal level: The only weapons that can be fired across water (in order to stop a “rock-skipping” type ricochet from occurring) are shotguns, and then, only during waterfowl season.
All this, Hilliard believes, makes a strong case for him to get the TRO. Disclosure is going to follow up on this tomorrow, and will be bringing more material, including photos, to the site. Be checking for it.