Stray bullet barely misses 86-year-old vet in Arizona

By Alexis Dominguez

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    APACHE JUNCTION, Arizona (KPHO, KTVK) — A man in Apache Junction possibly came within inches of death after a stray bullet flew through his trailer’s wall. Dale Hoehne is an 86-year-old Army vet who visits Apache Junction with his wife every winter for about three months.

“We enjoy it here but this last year has been terrible.” That’s because he’s been dealing with what he believes is random gunfire and stray bullets flying through his home. “We replaced the window now, but you can still see in the blinds here where the one went through and another went through up here,” he said. A few days ago, there was an instance that could’ve ended his life. “This here is the one that came in and barely missed my head by about six inches. It was about 8 o’clock in the morning when we were watching tv,” Hoehne said.

The Apache Junction Police Department is investigating a string of incidents involving criminal damage and aggravated assault due to miscellaneous gunfire reported from Countryside RV Resort, located at 2701 S. Idaho Road, since December. The department has received seven separate reports of bullets hitting trailers in the area. Hoehne’s trailer has been struck at least five of seven times. “But how many have gone into roofs and stuff like that that you don’t know about. And how many times have we been hit, haven’t been here, haven’t heard it,” he said.

His neighbors have also had close calls; some have even left. “They were just shaken they were so scared, they decided to up and leave, they left because they didn’t want more of that,” Hoehne said. He feels it’s just a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

Police are asking anyone with information to call their non-emergency line at (480) 982-8260, call their hotline at (480) 474-8585 or submit a tip at apachejunctionaz.gov/tip.

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