Bullets flying in Seffner neighborhood has residents on edge: ‘Ya’ll got to go’
SEFFNER, Fla. - Residents in a Seffner neighborhood say they’re losing sleep over concerns for their safety. They say bullets have flown past them on their property and have even broken through one man’s sliding glass door, landing in his toaster oven.
Glenn Kinman said the bullets are coming from his next-door neighbor’s property where people are recreationally firing their guns. He said most Sundays since his neighbor bought the piece of land about a year ago, people on the property have been firing weapons recklessly.
"This Sunday, I figured day there was probably anywhere from 800 to 1,000, maybe a little more, rounds that were shot," Kinman said.
Seffner land where neighbors are concerned about bullets being fired.
Kinman is a gun-safety instructor and said he’s an advocate for the right to fire your weapon on your property but wants to make sure it’s being done safely.
"I want you to enjoy it because I enjoy what I do on my side, but we just got to be responsible for our dispatch rounds. When that round leaves the muzzle, you got to be responsible for the backstop. It has got to absorb that round," he explained.
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Kinman said bullets have ricocheted off of trees on his property and his other neighbors’, and off of the lake. He said recently, he and his grandson were fishing in the lake that the properties surround when the gunshots started. They paddled ashore just in case, and as soon as they got back to land, Kinman said a round flew by where they were in the water.
Bullet holes in a tree courtesy of Glenn Kinman.
"I’ve been shot twice in my life all by accidental discharge…so I know what you're going to experience if it doesn't kill you right off. But my concern is my grandson and my granddaughter," Kinman said. "They come over. They come over Sundays and we have a Sunday afternoon, but this past Sunday, when that was the initial volley that took place that I shared, I said, ‘Man, y'all got to go,’" he said.
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Kinman and his neighbor, Tom Ferguson, said their fears became heightened recently when a bullet flew through another neighbor’s sliding glass door and ended up lodged in the toaster oven.
A bullet in a toaster over courtesy of Tom Ferguson.
"We were out by our pool one Sunday and they started shooting and we went inside, but we went the other end of the house as far from the back of our house as we could get," Ferguson said. "We stayed gone part of last Sunday again, for the same reason," he said.
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"It makes you kind of anxious," Ferguson said.
Tom Ferguson's image of a bullet hole on his property.
Kinman said he talked to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and to the property owner but hasn’t been able to get things resolved. HCSO sent the following statement regarding the incident.
"On Monday, April 24, 2023, a Seffner resident came into our District 2 office to file a complaint about people shooting firearms on some property near his home. Our deputies immediately began to investigate and were able to make contact with one of the property owners adjacent to the complainant’s home. The deputies confirmed that a shooting did take place on the property from time to time. Relating the concern of neighbors, our deputies educated and advised the owner about discharging weapons responsibly on private property and the requirements set by Florida law. While our deputies continue to investigate this incident and speak with nearby residents, team HCSO reminds citizens that the continuation of firing weapons in a way that places the lives of people and potentially damages the property of others could lead to criminal charges. If there are any questions about whether a property owner can practice shooting on their land, they are welcome to reach out to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8200."
The property owner said his friends and family fire their weapons on the piece of land and are supposed to use the dirt mound as a backstop, but have been shooting into the air at times. He said he understands his neighbors’ concerns and told everyone not to shoot any more until they’re able to move the dirt mound, that’s 18 feet tall and 50 feet wide, closer to the center of his property.