Barton County Sheriff Mitchell Shaw has received several complaints about exploding targets on the West side of the county in the Liberal, Missouri, area.
Tannerite, which is an exploding target, is legally purchased at shooting supply stores and also can be bought or purchased online in large quantities.
“What we have found recently is target shooters are purchasing the Tannerite in large amounts to make a ‘huge explosion’,” says Sheriff Shaw.
He said some residents have made reports that the subsequent explosions have been large enough to startle and have been reported to scare residents along with rattle windows in homes several miles away.
The Barton County Sheriff’s Office has responded to complaints this past weekend on the West side of the county. “During that time we have responded to numerous questions throughout the county from citizens, we have discovered there are no laws in effect for possessing or discharging the product,” Sheriff Shaw said, explaining that in some cases they are looking into filing criminal charges against individuals for the crime of peace disturbance.
Peace disturbance is defined in Missouri under RSMo 574.010 as “A person commits the offense of peace disturbance if he or she:
(1) Unreasonably and knowingly disturbs or alarms another person or persons by:
(a) Loud noise; or (b) Offensive language addressed in a face-to-face manner to a specific individual and uttered under circumstances which are likely to produce an immediate violent response from a reasonable recipient; or
(c) Threatening to commit a felonious act against any person under circumstances which are likely to cause a reasonable person to fear that such threat may be carried out; or
(d) Fighting; or (e) Creating a noxious and offensive odor;
(2) Is in a public place or on private property of another without consent and purposely causes inconvenience to another person or persons by unreasonably and physically obstructing:
(a) Vehicular or pedestrian traffic; or (b) The free ingress or egress to or from a public or private place.
2. The offense of peace disturbance is a class B misdemeanor upon the first conviction. Upon a second or subsequent conviction, peace disturbance is a class A misdemeanor. Upon a third or subsequent conviction, a person shall be sentenced to pay a fine of no less than one thousand dollars and no more than five thousand dollars.
During the weekend we have issued one summons for peace disturbance to a county resident for discharging amounts of Tannerite and causing alarm to a family that resides a short distance away.
Sheriff Shaw goes on to say “We cannot have county residents in their homes being startled by a loud explosion. People don’t know if something bad has just happened or if a neighbor’s house just exploded.”
“They don’t know that a group of people is having fun by setting off or shooting Tannerite and making the large explosion. It is also my belief that our community should not have to tolerate the windows in their home being rattled or debris from an explosion hitting their home. I was told at just one recent explosion several small pieces or metal fragments flew a long ways from the blast sight,” states Sheriff Shaw.
It has been reported that there are families in our community with small children who cannot take loud noises and it is harmful and upsetting to them. Sheriff Mitchell Shaw said “I have a granddaughter who has a hard time dealing with loud noises and it would aggravate me to have her being upset and affected by one of these explosions.”
We also have not received any reports of injuries caused by the exploding targets, but we believe it could only be a matter of time before somebody could get hurt. This is something we hope never happens.
While the use of tannerite as such is not illegal, the Barton County Sheriff’s will continue to investigate the disturbances caused by the use of tannerite and will enforce State statute. Those who use tannerite are encouraged to do so safely and be mindful of how others might react.
