Charges Possible After Stray Bullet Strikes Moores Hill Home

Children were playing on a water slide outside when a bullet suddenly struck the house Sunday.

The busted window and the .45 caliber bullet which struck Rich and Kelli Pettit's home on Sunday, August 19. Photos by P.G. Gentrup.

(Moores Hill, Ind.) – As children played on a water slide set up in a Moores Hill family’s front yard Sunday afternoon, a window suddenly shattered.

Upon inspection of the broken window, the cause became apparent. A bullet had flown through Rich and Kelli Pettit’s yard and struck their home, said P.G. Gentrup, Kelli’s father.

“They immediately called 911 and were told to go in “lock down” and stay in the basement where Kelli had taken them until Dearborn County Sheriff Deputies could arrive,” said Gentrup.

Kelli was standing in her driveway with her daughter talking with another mother and daughter as three boys played in the yard. They had heard gunshots being fired in the distance across Chesterville Road.

According to the Dearborn County Sheriff’s Department, a deputy checked the neighboring property and found a number of subjects which had been shooting guns. One suspect confessed that the wayward bullet could have came from his .45 caliber pistol. Further investigation determined the bullet found in the window had been fired from that pistol.

Gentrup says the shooter was brought to the home to see the damaged window and how a tragedy was so close to happening.

“He was very visibly shaken,” Gentrup said, adding that the individual was from Ohio.

Deputies confiscated the pistol. The case has been handed to the Dearborn-Ohio County Prosecutor’s Office for review, the sheriff’s department said. The individual's name has not been released by law enforcement.

Deputies said the shooter took full responsibility and made arrangements with the Pettits to fix the damaged window.

Had the shooting been happening at another time, the results could have been deadly. The boys had been sitting near the window just 30 minutes earlier eating pizza. Just the day before, the Pettits had been hosting a birthday party for their eight-year-old son.

“God was watching over these people and Kelli said you can replace the window but you can’t replace these kids.  They would like to thank the Dearborn County Sheriff Department for their quick response and handling of the situation,” Gentrup said.