COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A Coeur d’Alene gun club is now offering a $5,000 reward as deputies search for the person who fired more than 20 shots at their building.
"We started it in 1989 as a place to have a nice, family-oriented, safe place to go and shoot," Fernan Rod and Gun Club Owner Robert Smith said.
Smith has been playing detective, trying to figure out who fired more than 20 rounds at their building, causing $8,500 worth of damage.
"This is probably the worst act of vandalism we’ve had in 34 years," Smith said.
There’s bullet holes in the door, cabinets, and the floor.
“The rounds came through the wall here, bounced off the floor, and most all the hits were fortunately absorbed by the stove here," Smith said.
Smith says whoever shot up the place parked on the road above. It’s where he found shell casings. The club has cameras everywhere, and he shared video with deputies showing the suspect’s car.
“We have it on camera coming in and going out," Smith said. “We’ve been piling up the evidence and building the case.”
The club is now offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
“We posted the reward not because of damage," Smith said. "We have insurance like any other business or non-profit that we are. More importantly, someone didn’t know, nor did they care that someone could have been in here. They could have caused serious injury or death.”
The shooting happened around 4:30 a.m. on March 25th. An instructor was in the building just two hours after it happened.
"He could have easily been standing right here, brewing a cup of tea and it would have killed him.”
Smith does not believe the shooter was a member.
"Probably a good idea to come forward while you can still make your excuses or whatever and everyone will take a look at that, maybe get some slack cut, or, again, this is what cops do for a living," Smith said. "You can wait for a knock at the door, at which point all bets are off.”
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