Linda Sperling considers herself lucky that she only suffered a concussion when she was hit while standing in her yard last week. A fraction of an inch to the right or left, and the outcome could have been disastrous.
Sperling was outside gathering branches that a recent windstorm had scattered over her five-acre property when she heard what sounded like an explosion. She then put her hand to her head, and found blood on her gardening glove.
She was rushed to a hospital, where doctors told her a bullet had entered and exited her scalp, the Columbian reported.
“I didn’t even realize I’d been shot,” Sperling told the paper “What if it was a quarter-inch deeper?”
— Chelsea Kopta (@ChelseaKATU) February 4, 2015
Her husband and son believe the stray bullet was fired from the Clark Rifles outdoor shooting range. The gun club has two rifle ranges and a handgun range, according to its website. One of those 300-yard rifle ranges points toward the Sperlings’ property.
“There’s no proof that it was from our range,” said Dave Christie, vice president of Clark Rifles. “We know about no rounds that left the range.”
The local sheriff’s department is investigating, but their objective is to determine if a crime was committed.
“It’s really not looking like it’s going to be considered any sort of criminal activity,” Sgt. Fred Neiman said. “It looks like an unintended, unfortunate incident where she was injured.”
The Sperlings said the shooting range was somewhat dormant when they finished building their house in 1980, with shots heard every month or so. But around 1988, the shots became more frequent.
Although the rifle club already had a berm in place behind its targets, and even added a wooden backstop, the Sperlings continued to find bullets in their yard.
Their son, Andy Sperling, hired a metal detecting company in an effort to find the bullet that struck his mother. The search found more than a pound of bullets in the yard.
For Linda Sperling, moving out of her home of 35 years is not an option.
“This is home,” she said. “We have our roots pretty deep here.”
Linda continues to suffer from memory and vision problems and a constant headache, the family said. She used to work in the yard daily.
“I haven’t left the couch,” she said. “I’m not a couch person.”
