Could 6-year-old with a BB gun be the culprit?
A Yatahey couple came back from church to find the rear windshield of their SUV had been shot with a BB gun.
On April 11 around 1:30 pm McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Davis Jr. arrived at #13C Ark Hill in Yatahey, N.M. to meet with the owners of the car.
The damaged vehicle was a 2018 Jeep Cherokee. The rear windshield was shattered.
The woman pointed out where a pellet had hit the bottom of the windshield. The pellet was on the ground underneath the Jeep. Davis took pictures of the windshield and the pellet.
The man said he discovered the damage around 1:00 pm. He said the last time he had seen the vehicle had been on April 9 around 4:15 pm. At that time the windshield was fine.
The couple said they believed a small child had caused the damage. The woman said they saw a young boy shooting a BB gun after they came home from church. They yelled at the child to stop, but he continued to shoot.
They said they saw the boy hide somewhere near his house.
They also told Davis that other people had seen the shooting. Two witnesses said they heard the woman yelling at the boy. They said the boy owned a BB gun.
After writing down the SUV’s information, Davis went over to the boy’s house at #13F. He met the woman who lived there, and explained that her neighbors were accusing her child of shooting and causing damage to their SUV.
The mother said her son did have a BB gun, and that she had told him to stay in their yard. She explained that she had taken it away from him. She said her son was six years old.
Davis asked to see the rifle and took photos of it. He explained that he would write up a report and that there may be an insurance claim in connection with the incident.
By Molly Adamson
Sun Correspondent
