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Sneads Ferry residents tell Onslow commissioners private shooting range is disrupting daily life
Summary
Residents who live on NC Highway 172 told the Onslow County Board of Commissioners that continuous shooting from a nearby private range prevents children from playing outside, wakes infants and disrupts a preschool; speakers asked the county to enforce existing rules.
Several residents of the NC Highway 172 area told the Onslow County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 16 that continuous shooting at a nearby private gun range has made outdoor family life and preschool activities difficult.
Taylor Green, a resident at 1477 NC Highway 172, told the board that the range — described as a membership club the speakers called Bridal Gun Club — fires "a couple thousand rounds a day" and that officers and county staff have not resolved the problem. "I can't sit and drink coffee and watch church on Sunday morning at the house on TV because of gunfire," Green said.
Victoria Scott, who also identified her address as 1477 NC Highway 172, told commissioners the range is "clearly, it's less than 500 feet away from my granddaughter's house" and said shooting sometimes occurs at night and while preschool children are on a playground. "I can completely hear them shooting while we're at the preschool, and the children are in the playground," Scott said.
Alexis Fretwell, who said she lives immediately behind the range at 1479 NC Highway 172, described not letting her children outside because of the constant noise and said her 3-year-old child with autism can be disturbed by the gunfire. "Even at nighttime, my bedroom is closest to where they are shooting, and we had to sleep with a noise machine on because it wakes the baby up," Fretwell said.
Robert Davis, 1479 (address as stated), told commissioners he sometimes hears firing before 7 a.m. and said the constant shooting makes it difficult to put his child to sleep. "It's not a good time. Please do something about it," he said.
Speakers asked the board to take action or press law enforcement to enforce ordinances. Taylor Green said county staff and the sheriff's office "can't do anything more than what they're doing," and asked the board to look for solutions.
Commissioners acknowledged the speakers and several said they would explore options; no formal action was taken at the meeting. Commissioner comments noted the matter may be difficult to resolve because of limits on county authority and enforcement challenges, but commissioners said they would continue to look for ways to address residents' concerns.
