COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE IS INVESTIGATING AFTER A MAN REPORTED THAT BULLETS WENT FLYING OVER HIS HEARD WHILE WALKING AT CHERRY CREEK STATE PARK. — AURORA, Colo. — Colorado Parks and Wildlife is investigating after a man reported that bullets went flying over his heard while walking at Cherry Creek State Park.
Several months ago, Jason Matherly, started walking the trails at the state park in Arapahoe County.
"I love doing it because of the wildlife and the peace and quiet," Matherly said. "Most mornings, I walk about four miles."
It wasn’t until last Sunday morning that his daily walk turned into something he never expected.
"I was walking along a path downrange to the Family Shooting Center, and I'd heard rounds being fired while I was walking, which is typical, but then I heard this whizzing sound of a bullet over my head," Matherly said.
He was able to capture the sound of those bullets in a cellphone video.
"There's nothing like hearing a rifle round zoom over your head," Matherly said.
In a statement, the Family Shooting Center inside of the state park says, in part, “We take safety and the safety of the public and our neighbors very seriously. We work very closely with the state park and their staff. We will look into this with the state park and continue to make improvements to the range.”
Colorado Parks and Wildlife investigators are looking into Matherly's report.
"We take safety matters on our shooting ranges seriously. Generally, shooting ranges are safe because it is a controlled environment, but we are taking this claim very seriously, looking into it and will explore appropriate options to ensure it is a safe operation," CPW said in a statement.
Matherly says he’s not speaking out in opposition of the shooting range being there, but he would like safety precautions to be revisited.
"I've been shooting there with my son. I've been shooting there with a friend. This is just a matter of safety. This is a matter of life and death, and as far as I'm concerned, it really is statistically playing Russian roulette with people down range of the shooting center," Matherly said.
Still, it won’t keep him from visiting his place of peace.
"My friends think I'm crazy but I just don't give in to this kind of thing," Matherly said. "I'm not going to let it stop me."
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