Wayland Man Charged with Firing Pellet Gun at Woman, Children

Wayland Police say William Kelly of 11 Wampum Path disrupted a nature walk for a woman and three children March 20 when he fired a pellet gun in their direction after asking them to leave the woods abutting his property.

Kelly, 73, is now facing a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Police Lt. Patrick Swanick said the woman reported the incident to police the next day after going to Kelly's home to speak with him about what had happened the night before. Swanick said he believes the two are neighbors and know one another.

When she arrived at the home, Swanick said, she noticed a pellet gun sitting out and asked Kelly whether he fired it the night before.

“He admitted to woman that, yeah, he shot it,” Swanick said, adding that Kelly told her it wasn't pointed at the group.

The victim, however, told police that she and the children "heard a popping sound and something traveling through the woods consistent with a BB gun or a pellet gun,” Swanick said.

According to a police press release, the woman was walking with her two children and another child in the woods behind Kelly's home near dusk on March 20. The group was on a search for frogs and wildlife.

The press releases states that Kelly yelled at the group and told them to leave the area as "they had no right to be there."

"[The walk] was totally innocent, and it abuts his property," Swanick said, adding that the area is owned by the Sudbury Valley Trustees. “[Kelly] told officers in the report that there’s a family of ducks living there and he looks out for them. Apparently, he has an interest in that area.”

When police spoke with Kelly, Swanick said he told them the gun wasn't loaded, but that he did discharge it several times to scare the woman and children away.

Swanick said "it doesn’t make a difference" whether the gun was loaded when it comes to the charges.

"It’s the person’s perception," Swanick said. "If you believe the gun to be loaded or you believe there to be a gun, you put someone in fear."

Police confiscated the pellet gun and a box of pellets. Swanick said Kelly does not own any other firearms and does not have a current Firearms Identification Card (which is not required for a pellet gun).

Kelly is a longtime resident of the neighborhood and has no criminal history.