While western fans got in touch with their cowboy roots at the first day of the Cochrane Lions Rodeo, across town someone has gone all Wyatt Earp and taken the law into their own hands, firing guns at vehicles parked on the street.
Cochrane RCMP have received several complaints from members of the community who have had their vehicles hit with a pellet gun, causing minor damage. Vehicles parked on Baird Avenue, just up from the pickleball courts at 417 1st Street East have been targeted for a few weeks now.
Cochrane Pickleball Club member Georg Paffrath’s vehicle has been hit three times, and he says it took a while for fellow members to put two and two together to realize someone was using their cars for target practice. A former police officer who’s a club member recognized the damage as that coming from a pellet gun.
“All of a sudden, everybody started realizing that they had pot shots taken at their cars, and the more we compared notes and looked at cars . . . the last I heard we're well over 10 heading to 20 people,” Paffrath told The Eagle Friday.
“So we're hoping with the police reports each one of us has submitted that something happens there.”
Some of the pickleballers reported the same damage – three shots on the passenger side – after parking at almost exactly the same spot on Baird Ave.
“We realized this was more than a single incident,” he said. “So that's how we put two and two together.”
In one day, six or seven vehicles were shot.
Paffrath thinks the disgruntled shooter is upset with the noise from the pickleball courts.
He added it’s possible they’re also angered about cars parking on the street, but noted there are no parking restrictions in that area.
Besides the damage to personal property, he said firing any kind of gun across public streets in town is a serious public safety issue.
Cst. Clayton Gelinas of the Cochrane Crime Reduction Unit said in an email that the RCMP are continuing to investigate the mischief occurrences.
“The information gathered at this time has not led to sufficient evidence to allow for the arrest and charge of any individuals, and (we) are asking the public to please keep diligent and report any suspicious activity in the area.”
If anyone has any information regarding these incidents, they are asked to contact Cochrane RCMP at 403-851-8000, or local police. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1‐800‐222‐8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.