Two students were shot during basketball tryouts at Harwell Middle School in Edinburg, Texas. Irresponsible hunting or target shooting on leased land may be to blame for the shootings. Many rural schools are near hunting grounds and many state and local governments have little regulations in place to protect students.
In Texas, Harwell and the neighboring elementary school are surrounded by hunting lands, as are Clinton Elementary and Pena Elementary in Penitas, KRGV Channel 5 reports. Mike Cox, spokesman for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, told The Associated Press he was unaware of a "specific law or regulation that prohibits hunting close to public buildings, such as schools and hospitals," but it is illegal to "discharge firearms within city limits or along public roads."
In North Carolina, parents in Gastonia raised concerns about gunshots fired near an elementary school but police said the rabbit hunters had valid permits and did not believe they were too close to the school, WSOC Channel 9 reports. A city ordinance says landowners with at least 15 acres "can apply to the chief of police to use shotguns or .22 caliber rifles with shot load ammunition on their property" but "no firearm can be discharged within 500 feet of any occupied home or building." (Read more) Statewide, there are no regulations "prohibiting hunting near schools in unincorporated areas of counties," Brent Ward, a North Carolina wildlife officer, told WRAL-TV. Target shooting is limited to a minimum of 100 yards from occupied buildings. (Read more)
In Texas, Harwell and the neighboring elementary school are surrounded by hunting lands, as are Clinton Elementary and Pena Elementary in Penitas, KRGV Channel 5 reports. Mike Cox, spokesman for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, told The Associated Press he was unaware of a "specific law or regulation that prohibits hunting close to public buildings, such as schools and hospitals," but it is illegal to "discharge firearms within city limits or along public roads."
In North Carolina, parents in Gastonia raised concerns about gunshots fired near an elementary school but police said the rabbit hunters had valid permits and did not believe they were too close to the school, WSOC Channel 9 reports. A city ordinance says landowners with at least 15 acres "can apply to the chief of police to use shotguns or .22 caliber rifles with shot load ammunition on their property" but "no firearm can be discharged within 500 feet of any occupied home or building." (Read more) Statewide, there are no regulations "prohibiting hunting near schools in unincorporated areas of counties," Brent Ward, a North Carolina wildlife officer, told WRAL-TV. Target shooting is limited to a minimum of 100 yards from occupied buildings. (Read more)
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