EPCSO will begin “Don’t Shoot” initative

be cracking down on recreational shooting in the unicorporated areas of east el paso county. deputies say they will increase patrols in the areas around red sands and the socorro student activities complex. today abc- 7’s jerry najera spoke with residents in the area … he’s live with that story … rick estela just about every resident i spoke with say this is a major problem. they say shooting in these areas is a daily occurrence. “shootings are real common in the summer time” sheriff deputy juan garcia takes abc-7 on a ride-along to show just how common recreational shooting is in far east el paso county. take a look –in some areas you can’t even see the ground it’s covered in shotgun shells and bullet casings “it’s definitely an issue we hear guns shooting two three times a week” “constantly it’s lik every night” “on weekend you just hear it going off” residents like karmul high and others who live behind the socorro students activity complex say people shooting in the desert has gotten to close for comfort. “a neighbor righ across the street a few houses down last year one of their windows got hit” “the gunsho sounded like they were coming at me i turned around and ran back” while it isn’t illegal to shoot firearms in the unincorporated areas of the county –deputy gonzalez says there’s a few items they’ll be checking on when out questioning shooters. “fo one we’ll be checking to see that the weapon is a clean weapon, it’s not stolen and two we’re going to cite them if they have open containers” bu the biggest issue deputies run across they say is trespassing. many — are using private land to practice firing there weapons. during the don’t shoot initiative they say they will inform them if they are on private land and pass on simple tips “they need to understand if there is a residential area if they see a building if they see something like that they need to go a little further that that” residents say they welcome the crackdown. “i have thre kids so im really worried about them you just never know they are shooting up in the air and a straight bullet comes down “hitting one of us killing my grandson” the el paso county sheriffs office adds there are several charges that can be handed to a person if found shooting carelessly or even shooting something or someone accidentally. those can range from disorderly conduct to reckless damage and even criminal negligent homicide. to stormtrack weather now! let’s get your first forecast from