BERTHOUD — Bob and Darla Starman were in their front yard getting ready for a garage sale in July when Bob thought he heard a bullet whiz past his head.
Then they heard a second shot, and Darla screamed. A .22-caliber bullet had lodged in her leg above the knee, not far from the femoral artery.
“It’s a hurt I’ve never felt before,” said Darla, who still suffers aches and soreness from the injury.
The Starmans knew right away that Darla had been shot, but they didn’t know who had fired the shot or why. The answer was one rural property away, with neighbor Matthew Kuber, who reportedly was shooting at rabbits that had been feasting on his garden.
His shot instead hit the woman having a garage sale next door.
Bob and Darla know their neighbor did not mean to shoot her. But the experience, along with other recent news stories about a stray bullet hitting a building in Fort Collins and constant target shooting in their neighborhood west of Berthoud, prompted the Larimer County couple to speak out.
They urge people, whether hunting, target shooting or eliminating a nuisance, to look where they are aiming and avoid firing in public areas.
Shooting is allowed in unincorporated Larimer County but not in city or town limits. Since the county allows shooting, Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife rules let residents shoot nuisance animals, such as rabbits and squirrels.
Residents are required to make sure their actions are safe.
“It’s really common-sense stuff,” said Larry Rogstad, area wildlife manager for Parks and Wildlife. “Be sure of your target and what is beyond.”
