SOMERSET TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Somerset Township, Washington County father is speaking out after hearing what he called hours of gunfire in the woods by his home, right next to a playground, ball field, walking track and basketball courts.
Jared Ritenour, a father of two, said he has called the police due to gunfire concerns.
“It was like a war zone, and that’s when I called the police,” Ritenour said. “My goodness, it sounded like the beginning of Saving Private Ryan — pow, pow, pow, pow, pow.”
Ritenour has been raising concerns on social media and at township meetings, saying the target shooting near the park is dangerous. He says he was laughed at during one of those meetings. He says this is not a Second Amendment issue.
“I own guns! I own a lot of guns!” he said. “I just don’t shoot them next to a park.”
The property owner, Ronnie Fordyce, defended his rights, saying they’ve been target shooting on the land for nearly four years. He told Channel 11 the group shoots into 300 acres of woods, not toward the park, and that they’re following the law.
“We are not breaking any laws. We are responsible adults,” said Fordyce. “No one has proved it’s unsafe. We are back in the woods, not facing the park or nothing.”
Fordyce pointed out that state law bans hunting near schools or playgrounds but does not prohibit target shooting.
Ritenour says he’s worried it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.
“It only takes a second for something to happen and change your life forever,” he said.
The township board is expected to discuss the issue again at its meeting on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
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