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Two Men Charged by VPD After Bringing in the New Year With a ‘Bang’

   Written by on January 5, 2017 at 12:54 pm

VICTORIA – The Victoria Police Department received a “shots fired” call around midnight on the night of New Year’s Eve and the morning of New Year’s Day.

Corporal Daniel Medlin and Officer Greg Wallace responded to the calls that were in close proximity along the 1200 block of 11th Street in the town of Victoria. Upon arriving at the first location, the officers were able to investigate and ascertain the culprit that later admitted to having fired a gun into the air in celebratory fashion. Incidents are reported yearly where bullets fired in the air in this manner fall back to earth and later strike others and cause injury and even death.

The man responsible for firing the weapon was identified as 26-year-old Rowland S. Feals of Wildwood Road in Keysville, VA. He was charged with recklessly handling a firearm and with discharging a firearm in public.  The VPD officers recovered an 870 12-gauge shotgun that had been the weapon fired.

In the same area of the town, but at different residence, a second shots fired call had been sent to VPD. Corporal Medlin and Officer Wallace were able to find a second culprit who was identified as Ciante D. Scott of Cottage Road in Blackstone.  Scott had discharged a 9MM Taurus handgun into the air in the same manner as Feals.

Scott also admitted that he had been firing the pistol and was charged with recklessly handling a firearm and with discharging a firearm in public.

Both men were charged and released on an unsecured bond to appear in court at a later date.

Victoria Police Chief Keith Philips said that this type of action has led to injuries and a recent death of a child in the Richmond area. He stated, “What goes up, must come down and it sometimes ends with tragic results.”  Chief Phillips continued, “People must be careful, handle firearms properly and know that is illegal to discharge a gun in this manner in a town.”

When fired into the air, bullets can return to the ground at speeds greater than 200 ft./sec., a sufficient force to penetrate the human skull and cause serious injury or death.

Reports from around the world suggest that celebratory gunfire injuries are a concern and while they represent a small portion of gun related injuries and deaths, they are completely preventable.

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