Mystery Bullet Hits Florida Homeowner’s House, with No Answers or Help
A Collier County, Florida, man is counting his lucky stars after a stray bullet was fired into his home this week. Dan Harty told Gulf Coast News Now’s Peter Busch about how the bullet hit the glass door at the rear of his house just moments after his toddler exited the room.
Photos show the damage that was caused, which includes a spiderweb pattern in the center of the door that Harty says is starting to crack towards the top and bottom of the massive glass panel. When it reaches either side, the homeowner worries that the door will shatter completely, creating a new mess for him to deal with.
But that’s not the only frustration Harty says he’s facing. In an interview with WINK News, the worried father claimed that the police were little help when he called to tell them about the incident, and that they won’t even tell him who fired the shot.
Now the worried dad says he’s concerned about what could happen next time a bullet is fired towards his house, especially with a small child and dog at home.
Harty Said he Heard Multiple Gunshots
The incident started with a loud bang, according to the Florida man. “My dog shot up,” Harty recalled. “When I came out, I saw the bullet hole. I went to my daughter’s door because it’s aligned with it.”
While he was checking to make sure his family was okay, Harty said more shots were going off in the distance. “It was still going off rounds. You know, I don’t know if this guy is a good shot. Obviously not,” Harty continued, saying that he called deputies right away for help.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get the response he was looking for. According to the homeowner, the deputies were unable to offer any assistance since there were no injuries or intent associated with the gunshot. “They’ll just give me a police report, and then it’s on me,” he continued. “They also told me they won’t give me any information about whoever shot this. So, it’s been aggravating.”
Florida Gun Laws Allow for Certain Types of Shooting
It seems like Harty received the response he did from deputies because of Florida’s gun laws. According to a message on the Collier Sheriff website, homeowners are allowed to fire their guns in their own backyards under certain circumstances.
And that used to be the appeal of the area based on Facebook comments concerning the case. “I used to always shoot in my backyard,” one person wrote on Busch’s post. “Now, even with a berm, it’s not worth the risk. It’s a shame too because I enjoyed it and now I can’t because of how populated it got. Sadly, these things happen when you try to change the culture of an area that is set in its ways and moved out here initially for those liberties.”
“If you live on acreage and are allowed to shoot on your property, you should have a shooting berm and only shoot towards that,” another person added. “Irresponsible otherwise.”
Harty is Worried Something Worse Will Happen
According to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, firearms were the second most common cause of death for people between the ages of 1 and 17 as of 2024, which was the most recent year for which the data was available. And that could be feeding into part of Harty’s concern about this incident, especially since he didn’t feel like he got much in the way of support from deputies.
“I could be making dinner for my family and, you know, something tragic happens,” he told Gulf Coast News Now. “We could be sitting watching TV. Tragedy happens also, like, now, when this comes down, I have a puppy, and I have a two-year-old.”
