THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 8, 1996 TAG: 9608080421
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: 27 lines
A bullet that hit a 39-year-old tourist in the back Tuesday while he was standing in the wave pool at Water Country USA could have been fired from as far as a mile away, authorities said Wednesday.
``We're talking about a maximum range of around 1,700 yards,'' said Capt. Ron Montgomery, spokesman for the York Sheriff's Office.
``It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Depending on the wind that day, it could have come from so many places.''
The man was hit in the back of his right shoulder, but he was not seriously injured. In fact, he did not realize he had been wounded until a Water Country employee noticed blood running down his back.
X-rays showed the bullet had lodged above the man's right lung, Montgomery said.
``The bullet was free-falling. It was traveling slower than a bullet would have if he had been closer to the source,'' Montgomery said. MEMO: This story was compiled from reports by the Newport News Daily
Press and The Associated Press.
KEYWORDS: SHOOTING WATER COUNTRY USA by CNB