Posted on 02/18/2012 8:09:54 AM PST by marktwain
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Forty students from Westlake High School went from taking pictures Friday afternoon to taking fire from target shooters near Utah Lake.
It's a common thing on the western side of Utah Lake: gunfire, on public land, with signs everywhere to let people know to be cautious.
But Friday, the group of students, here on a field trip, came under fire when target shooters bullets got far too close for comfort.
A mother of one of the students recalls a text message from her terrified daughter: "It's been going on for 10 minutes. We're laying on the ground and waiting for police to come," Collette Boden read.
The two men were firing at targets on this hillside, unaware there was a school bus full of children on the other side, down by the water's edge.
When the shooting began, the students were taking pictures and testing water samples. Teachers and bus driver quickly put all the students back on the bus. Twenty more minutes passed before Utah County sheriff's deputies arrived.
"The shooters were not being really negligent or reckless or careless," said Sgt. Spencer Cannon. "They were not aware of the ricochet, and that's one of the risks of target shooting in areas like this: you can have a ricochet that can be dangerous for other people in the area."
The students were a half mile away from where the bullets were fired. Utah County authorities did not cite the two men, who cooperated fully and moved once they realized what was happening.
Alpine School District officials said students take field trips to that area frequently and did not question the location chosen by the teacher and bus driver.
"This was just such a freak incidence," Boden said. "The teachers did their best to handle it the way they could. The concern was the response time. Why wasn't anyone coming?"
Some parents, like Boden, wonder why the Saratoga Springs Police Department didn't respond, since their officers were obviously closer. But that department said they simply weren't dispatched to the scene.
Email: awittenberg@ksl.com
It would be nice to have more details.
Yes, the story lacks critical details. Were I to venture a guess, I’d speculate that the teachers heard gunshots and immediately demanded that Government keep them all safe. Since this is speculation I reserve the right to edit or amend my comments at a later time.
Reminiscent of PIAPS “dodging” sniper bullets in Kosovo.
Is it possible to actually dodge a bullet?
Yes, I saw it just the other day on TV... I think his name was "Pootie Tang".
“Is it possible to actually dodge a bullet?”
Only if it’s at “point blank range”, another favorite media shooting reference.
If they were there collecting water samples with a teacher, that tells me all I need to know about the intelligence of the teacher. Stay in harms way to prove a point and create a ruckus against those evil gunmen.
Move that bus!
Those “evil” guns again...
Of course, this is being painted in the most ugly light possible. But notice the Sheriff said that the shooters were not negligent. I strongly suspect that no bullets came anywhere near the students. They heard gunshots (funny thing the sound of a firearm makes near water... it can make it sound like it is far closer). And God forbid that a minnow or other fish disturb the water near the sound of a gunshot... someone might think they were under attack... (/sarcasm)
LOL!
Luck fiberals.
If they had gone a little bit north, then the Utes would have chased them out also with overhead rifle fire for trespassing on the reservation.
Stupidity 101 has lots of alumni teaching in our schools.
One of the teachers here wants to put a youth center in the same building as the new police station, telling the mayor that it would be great for kids to be close to cops.
Sorry but they`re gonna be only a few feet from registered sex offenders. Idiot teachers left their brains in kindergarten. No wonder our children are coming out knowing so little and knowing so much crap.
Deformed bullets at a high velocity can go in strange directions. Fortunately, they usually have little energy left when they impact.
Why didn’t they get into the...or maybe they were, report kinda confusing...and drive away?
Yes, why did they just sit on the bus ‘waiting’? That’s stupid. You don’t suppose there is anti-gun agenda in this do you?//s
I want to know what kind of dumb shooters don’t know about the concept of “ricochet.” I agree with another poster, however, and there seems to be some detail missing from this story.
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