UPDATE 4:13 p.m.: “Through further investigation,” said Detective Sgt. Todd Dockweiler of the Arcata Police Department,  “we determined that a neighbor had fired the shots at a deer. And we’ll be forwarding the case to the District Attorney’s Office for review.”

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Original post:

According to Detective Sgt. Todd Dockweiler of the Arcata Police Department, a residence in the Fickle Hill area was hit by a least one bullet when multiple gunshots were fired about 6:20 yesterday evening. No one was injured. 

Officers responded and, according to Dockweiler, “did an extensive check into the neighborhood and into the wooded area nearby.” He explained that no one was able to say definitively where the shots had come from. He said, “The residents [of the home struck by a bullet] didn’t believe that it would have been directed purposefully at them. It could have been a reckless discharge. We’re still sorting that out.”

“There will be further investigation determining what caliber the bullet was and what trajectory it was fired,” Dockweiler stated. He added that “there doesn’t seem to be a sign of an altercation.” Nor, he said, was there any sign of illegal activity at the residence that was struck.

Dockweiler pointed out, “These homes are located along the edge of a wooded area. We definitely have to consider the possibility that these were just random shots of someone shooting the gun in a reckless manner. It is hunting season.”