MT. JULIET, Tenn. – A stray bullet landed within feet of a mother and her 2-year-old child Monday afternoon while the toddler was playing in the driveway of their home.
Mt. Juliet Police said the 2-year-old was out riding a tricycle with the mother watching when the woman heard gun fire in the distant.
"I looked up and saw what I didn't know at the time what it was, but I saw some thing in the air, the sun glinting off of it, so I saw something sparkle,” said the mother who wished to remain anonymous.
She told police she saw the object strike a nearby power line and then land in her driveway just feet away from her.
"It fell and made this, 'ding' noise and I picked it up. It was very, very hot, but did not leave a mark in the driveway. It felt like I had just taken it out of an oven," she said.
The woman called police. They arrived and told her it was a 9 millimeter bullet.
"By the time the bullet reached the home it lost most of its velocity and kind of just fell to the ground after hitting the power line, so we believe it came from some distance away, possibly from the nearby woods where someone was out doing recreational shooting,” said Tyler Chandler with Mt. Juliet Police.
Chandler said detectives walked the neighborhood asking lots of questions trying to determine where the bullet came from. Police encourage residents to report if they hear loud gunshots near their homes so the location can be investigated.
Shooting or firing any projectile is prohibited in Mt. Juliet.
Anyone with any information regarding the stray bullet incident is encouraged to call the Mt. Juliet Police Department at (615) 754-2550.
