Self Storage- How far will a Bullet travel through Storage???????

Question

Went on vacation for a week. Came back to one of our newest
locations which is only about 2/5's full, part of the story.
Driving through I noticed a hole in one of the Doors. Got on
the camera history to see who backed into it. But no one did.
There was a solid door, then a hole appeared from thin air. Wow. I
thought maybe someone from afar had fired a shot our way.
Walked out to look at it and could tell it came from inside the
unit. Opened the unit up and saw where the bullet went through
the sidewall. Opened up the next wall, saw it went through
another sidewall. Opened another unit up and saw where it came
through a middle wall. Went to the other side of the building,
opened that unit up and could tell it came from the next unit which
was occupied. All of the units I had opened were not rented yet
luckily.

Looked at the camera history again. There was only one person on
the premises at the time, I saw the door whole and then a hole appeared.
And it came from their unit. Watching their activities, you could see them
come out quickly, the same time the hole appeared on the other side of the building.
Called, asked them if they shot a gun off in their unit and got, "Who me?". "No."

Called the police to do a report. We saw where the bullet exited the
door, then luckily the officer saw where it crossed the aisle and
went through another door which was occupied. Opened the next
unit up and saw where it came into the room and then just at the
roofline it hit a heavy piece of metal so it didn't go through the
roof. The officer found the bullet, which was from a 12 gauge
shot gun.

The officer said they could take the report in case I chose Civil actions
to help get them to pay for repairs. Or if they didn't pay,
then I just needed a quote and convert to a Criminal action.

Called the renter again and told them the story. They said
it was not a shotgun. Okay, what was it. "I don't have to tell
you." I explained we found the slug and it was from a
shotgun (50 caliber size). And the holes fit that. She
said no it wasn't a shotgun and a shotgun would make smaller holes
(who cares, it's a hole in my brand new storage complex). Okay, I'll get a quote then we can talk.

Attached below is the Quote. Brand new, no patching our brand new location.

Sent this to them and they said no way. I had already told them it
would cost a couple Thousand. Although they stayed calm, could
tell they thought they were the victim and I was the antagonist.
I explained their husband should never have stored a loaded shotgun
(them, "it wasn't a shotgun"), he should have had it on Safety, and
it should have been in a case. Response. "It wasn't a
shotgun". "I want pictures of all the holes. I want the phone number
for the company quoting (on the quote). I want a copy of my contract."

This person had kept working in their unit and never drove around to
see where the bullet went or if anyone was hurt.

So how far does a bullet travel through a Storage location? 5 Walls,
Two Doors and luckily hit a thick roof beam and stopped. $3,235 total.

Key points.
a. This was an accident, but they aren't admitting to it, giving any information
and to them it's my fault and not theirs.

b. If I do this through a civil case, if they don't pay, I have to sue and pay legal fees.
Even if we win, we still have to collect.

c. If I do this as a Criminal charge, I don't have to sue, no legal fees. Our costs will
be part of the charges, which would include restitution. This will follow them. However,
they get a weapons record, for an accident. Will see how it plays out this week.

Henry Clark · Answer

Update:  No response on payment or if they had insurance from tenant.  Going to update police department with quote and ask them to go forward with Criminal charges and restitution.  This saves me the Attorney fees and having to stay on top of the issue.  Plus, they are across the state line and already moved to another state.  This will follow them there.  Creating more reason for them to pay, versus me doing a civil suit and even if we won, still having to collect.

Hole size question, this is all off the cuff, don't want to start a hole Ballistic discussion:  Being thinner metal buildings, it expanded more at the beginning with the speed of the bullet (and air pressure/kinetic force) and then the holes got smaller as the velocity was reducing.  You can google 50 caliber shot youtubes to see impact of shock waves and you will see little or no impact. But these are with paper or cards.  The metal is able to absorb more of the kinetic force and cause a bigger hole, until the speed starts to slow down.  There is also a lot of difference between a 50 cal BMG longrifle than a 50 cal deer slug gunpowder and power.  No, I am not a trained Ballistic expert. However, I am a Rifle and Shotgun instructor, Range Safety Office and a trained competition marksman; all of which mean squat when it comes to ballistics.

Henry Clark · Answer

@Scott Mac

It was the wife of the husband.  We didn't get into their unit.  By the trajectory from the floor level and angled up, the officer said she grabbed the barrel with her right hand, started to lift, then with her left had grabbed the grip and trigger at the same time and it went off.

Alread explained to her, she needs to be mad at her husband, not me.  Should not have stored a loaded gun, should have been on safety, should have been in a case.

Criminal part will be discharging a gun in city limits.  Causing damage.  etc, etc.  I was okay to do civil so there wouldn't be any charges on her record since I could tell it was an accident, but she was uncooperative, everything was negative back towards me, and she presented no payment plan when I asked.  Did not even check or ask if anyone or anything got damaged.  Just kept moving things out of her storage for about 20 more minutes.  Plus, she has moved out of state. I don't want to pay attorney fees, hope to "win", then have to go through collection efforts.

Repairs-  This is a brand new location.  Want things fixed or it will slowly get demolished, since it is "acceptable" if I leave damages.  Door is a solid roll up door, costs about $300.  Labor however, this type you have to gain access to the two units next to it, to take down and install.  Labor cost is a lot.

Scott Mac · Answer

Hi Henry,

[1] Officer found the projectile said it was a 12 ga. slug, assumed shooter says not a shotgun...doesn't matter what he says, the evidence is a slug not a rifle projectile. Officer should be able to identify a slug from a rifle projectile. People use slugs to hunt deer.

[2] Boy that thing really tore through that steel door.

[3] I'd guess he was loading it or unloading it inside the unit and somehow fired it from the waist.

[4] I bet his ears are still ringing from the blast.

[5] I don't see how this is criminal.

[6] Must  you replace and repaint the whole door, or does it come apart in pieces?

[7] For a cheap quick fix to keep the rain and snow out, and for privacy between the units, maybe put bumper stickers over the holes.

[8} In some of the tougher parts of town PD uses shotgun slugs as a master key to open the unit when the renter will not voluntarily do so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AARzQINwnNE

Good Luck!

Brandon Hicks · Answer

@Henry Clark .50 BMG is a popular round for target enthusiasts. The rifles chambered for it tend to be in the $3-10k range. Not super common, but not uncommon. So it’s a possibility.

Zach Quick · Answer

That's way thicker of a hole than I thought it'd be. I've had one in a roof and we found the slug, but frankly had no idea how long it had been there. It was definitely not a shotgun, much smaller hole.

Joel B. · Answer

Henry,

This is a great story. Thank you so much for the details. I'm looking forward to hearing how this turns out. If it were me, I would lean towards letting it be a criminal matter first and then making it a civil matter if you don't get the outcome you were hoping for.

I would encourage you to resist going over the details with them. Just say that a gun was discharged from their space and that they are responsible for the damages. Don't try to fight about shotgun or this or that, just the important facts. I would actually not talk to them at all at this point unless you absolutely have to.

Looking forward to hearing what happens. Please post updates in this thread!

Blessings,Joel

Self Storage- How far will a Bullet travel through Storage???????

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