Gunshots Reported -- Again and Again

Residents have been reporting gunfire almost every week this summer -- and in most cases, they are positive the booms are coming from weapons.

Police aren't so sure.

On Saturday night, for example, a Drake Road resident heard five rifle shots about 9:45 p.m.

The police officer on the scene felt they were probably fireworks.

About 10:20 p.m., a caller from Walnut Creek Drive said someone shot off seven to 10 rounds. "Caller knows they are not fireworks," the report says.

A man from Carlyle Drive called in the same sounds. "He says it is not fireworks," the report notes.

But an officer said they were, in fact, fireworks, being set off in the area of Ellsworth Drive.

Detective Lt. John Janowski said it can be difficult to distinguish between fireworks and gunfire when the sound echoes through trees or neighborhoods.

And so far this summer, police have found no evidence of anyone shooting -- no damaged property, no blood from deer.

"We have nothing like that," he said.

He said it is possible people near the county line do hear gunshots coming from Columbia Station occasionally.

Some other examples, some explained and some not: 

• A Fox Grove resident reported hearing five shots about 7:15 p.m. July 18, possibly coming from Westwood.

• And about 6 a.m. July 19, a woman on Fair Road heard what sounded like three consecutive gunshots that seemed to come from the Wolzhaven area.

• A Howe Road resident said he not only heard what sounded like .22-cal rounds hitting off trees about 7:40 p.m. June 23, he could actuall feel the bullets whizzing by him.

• Also on June 23, someone reported an automatic weapon being fired in the Webster-Blazey area about 9:50 p.m. An officer in the area at the time said he heard fireworks coming from north of the turnpike.

• A Howe Road woman reported hearing two gunshots about 10 minutes apart around 11:30 p.m. July 15. They sounded like they were coming from behind her house.

• A Whitney Road resident heard a muffled gunshot about 1 a.m. May 7. The caller said it came from inside a house, and that the shot came from a handgun, not a rifle.

Police couldn't find anything unusual in the area, and an officer on patrol nearby said he did not hear a shot.

• A Bent Tree Court woman reported hearing "big booms" she believed were gunshots just before midnight July 10.

Police found a transformer had blown. CEI said about 40 homes were without power.

A Couple with Good (Smile-Worthy) Explanations

These were both reported last year, but they bear repeating:

• A tenant at a Whitney Road apartment reported hearing someone shooting behind the building about 10:30 p.m., but it was too dark to see who it was. Officers finally identified the source of the noise: A resident on the fifth floor, who was moving out, was dropping bags of clothing off the balcony rather than take them down the elevator.

• Also at a Whitney Road apartment, a tenant reported hearing a gunshot from the apartment above. The tenant, who ran to the lobby after the blast, told police his windows were open and he could even hear the shell casing hit the ground.

Police found the tenant on the third floor was brewing some type of alcoholic beverage in a bottle on the balcony and it exploded.

Some of the glass fell on the ground below.