A Texas school district has been granted a temporary restraining order against a shooting range after bullets were found in the façade of a nearby middle school that will open next week.
The Northwest Independent School District’s Barksdale Middle School in Northlake, Texas, is scheduled to open on August 12, but its proximity to the Quail Creek Shooting Range had threatened that date.
The gun range sits approximately 1.2 miles away from the school's south end. The two bullets found in the school were found on the school’s south side, which faces the gun range. One of the bullets was found in May and had struck an exterior wall. Another, found in July, hit exterior glass at the school, according to the district.
The district said it reported both discoveries to the Northlake Police Department.
Northwest ISD said it tried to reach an agreement with the range's owner, but claims those efforts failed, according to Fox 4 KDFW. Barksdale Middle School's principal told the broadcaster that the injunction was aimed at implementing safety measures rather than forcing the gun range to close.
The lawsuit claimed the school met with the gun range's owner, David Rose, on July 30 to discuss potential solutions. It claims that he acknowledged that someone could intentionally shoot over a berm on its property meant to keep bullets from exceeding its property line, but said that anyone who would do that is a "goober," WFAA reports.
"Mr. Rose also agreed that more safety measures could prevent bullets from being fired over the berm, but the Gun Range has not taken such measures," the lawsuit says.
On Friday, the school district told parents in a letter that under the restraining order, the gun range would, for now, not be able to use any weapons capable of reaching the school, according to WFAA.
“As a result of this TRO, the gun range is restrained from allowing the discharge of a bullet from a firearm that can travel the distance to Barksdale Middle School until appropriate safety measures are implemented," the letter stated, according to WFAA. "Any standards implemented must specifically meet the National Rifle Association range manual in a manner that prevents any bullets from being fired from the range to reach the Barksdale Middle School campus."
Quail Creek has been operating in Northlake since 1980 and features three rifle ranges, three pistol ranges, and a police, competition, and multipurpose training range.
The range does require all shooters to aim at or below a berm on the edge of its property to ensure that bullets are not fired beyond its property.
Locals on social media have noted that hunters do use ranch areas near the school for hunting. As of this report it's unclear what evidence the school has that links the bullets it found to the shooting range.
The Independent has requested comment from the shooting range and from the school district.
Barksdale Middle School is scheduled to open on August 12 for its first year of operation. The district said in an earlier letter to parents that extracurricular activities planned ahead of the opening will be held in the hours after the gun range closes for the day.
