Stray bullet bounces off Oregon woman’s head
(BendBulletin)- Rather than suffering a fatal gunshot wound, a Redmond woman’s evening of TV watching Monday was merely interrupted when a stray bullet bounced off her head.
After going through at least one exterior wall of her neighbor’s home and then a fence, the 9 mm bullet entered the woman’s home, went through a picture frame and — in the words of the Redmond Police Department — “bounced” off her head at about 9:45 p.m.
A bullet normally travels hundreds of feet per second, but this one had slowed significantly when it turned the survivor of the freak accident into the luckiest woman in Deschutes County.
According to Redmond police Lt. Curtis Chambers, the woman’s injuries were superficial.
“She had a knot on her head. You could feel it, but it didn’t bleed or puncture anything,” Chambers said. “It was like having a small rock thrown at you.”
The bullet came from the victim’s neighbor, who fired the round from inside his home at 2486 SW Wickiup Ave., Chambers said. When officers arrived, they followed the bullet’s trajectory to an exit hole in the neighbor’s house.
Ryan Pine, 24, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of reckless endangerment and second-degree criminal mischief.
Pine also had an outstanding warrant, and drugs and alcohol appear to be involved in the incident.