Important: From the Bates County Sheriff's Office

The Sheriff's Office has recently received multiple calls in reference to a house and car being struck by gun fire on separate occasions over the last few weeks. The residence is in rural Adrian and belongs to an older couple. The investigation did not produce any reason to believe this was a targeted or random act of violence toward the couple that lives there. Detectives believe these are the result of someone who was target practicing and not being aware of what is beyond their target. Detectives performed an area canvass and talked with the residents and no one admitted to target shooting. This is not a surprise to the Detectives due to the fact that the person would be financially responsible to repair the damage resulting from the irresponsible shooting.

Sheriff Anderson says, "I am a big supporter of your Second Amendment rights. I will continue to stand and defend them, but I ask that our residents help me by being responsible with those rights. We have to make sure that our neighbors, friends and guest to our area are safe from someone being negligent while using a firearm."

Below is a list of rules for gun safety. Please take the time to go over these and share them with anyone who can't tell you what they are.

The 4 safety rules
These four rules – to be observed like commandments by all shooters.:

1. All guns are always loaded
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target
4. Identify your target, and what is behind it