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Residents urge Alamance County to act after bullets, ricochets reported from Rad Range
Summary
Multiple residents told commissioners that projectiles from the Rad Range have struck or entered nearby properties and left families fearful; the county attorney said he will bring ordinance options to the board in January.
A stream of residents told the Alamance County Board of Commissioners that stray rounds and ricochets from the Rad Range near Jim Palmer Road have damaged trees and buildings and put families at risk.
"In the last seconds of the video I have, you can hear it whiz past my husband, myself ... and our two little boys," Samantha Powell said during public comment, recounting a night when a ricochet passed near her family. Multiple other residents described finding bullets on patios, damaged outbuildings and a 50‑caliber round that allegedly pierced a bedroom roof miles from the range.
Paul Capps and Butch McKenzie presented maps and photographs to show firing lines and nearby housing growth and said the range’s activities are increasingly incompatible with suburban development. Attorney Joseph Shuford, speaking for Howard and Patricia Dunn, urged the board to "step up and protect the safety of the community."
Rad Industries’ representative disputed some allegations. The owner said ATF acquisition‑disposition records do not show the alleged 50‑caliber weapon at the range on the dates cited and argued that video evidence and dates do not match the incidents residents described.
County Attorney told commissioners he had previously drafted a range ordinance and will present options — including models used by other counties — at the board’s January meeting. He cautioned that legal questions remain about whether any new ordinance would apply to existing, long‑standing ranges ("grandfathering") and said he is evaluating that issue.
Commissioners and residents said the issue raises public‑safety and land‑use questions for a county that is adding housing near formerly rural shooting areas. No formal regulatory change was adopted at the meeting; the county attorney’s presentation in January was the most recent procedural step.
This matter is expected to return to the board for legal and policy recommendations in the coming month.
