A bizarre shooting mishap has prompted the Department of Parks and Recreation to institute a temporary caliber limit for the three north-facing firearms ranges at Koko Head Shooting Complex.
Starting Aug. 24, only .22LR caliber ammunition and firearms will be allowed to discharge at the facility’s pistol, rifle and silhouette ranges. The archery range and south-facing firearms ranges are not affected.
The action was taken following a recent “ricochet incident” in which a high-caliber bullet is believed to have hit a dormant firearm slug within the northern berm, causing the slug to ricochet into the window of a parked car. No one was injured in the incident.
The restriction will remain in place until the the back stop behind the northern targets is reinforced. The project is scheduled to begin in October and take a month to complete. The entire facility will be closed while work is completed.
The $300,000 project, which will involve about 3,000 cubic yards of dirt and heavy machinery, is considered a short-term solution.
According to the city, a longer-term solution is being examined, to be funded by a portion of the $2.3 million in Capital Improvement Project funding appropriated for the facility.