Virginia

Man Charged After Bullet Hits Woman Outside Her Loudoun County Home

The woman told News4 she was rushing her kids into her house when she was shot

Deputies have charged a man after a flying bullet struck a woman outside her home in Loudoun County, Virginia, earlier this month.

A group of four men and women were target shooting at a farm on Gables Farm Lane on Sept. 8 when one of their bullets struck the woman several hundred yards away, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said.

The woman said the bullet grazed her arm as she was hurrying her children into their house.

William Hymes III, 24, was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, the sheriff's office said Monday. The charge is a misdemeanor.

The shooting incident has revived discussions about whether the county's gun regulations should be changed.

In May 2018, bullets fired from an outdoor shooting area hit three homes in Aldie. About three months later, some residents near Leesburg found bullet holes in the walls of their homes.

More stray bullets hit one home during a baby shower in Oct. 2018.

Some residents called on Loudoun County officials to consider revising the ordinance governing shooting.

The ordinance — last revised in 2013 — permits all types of shooting in the more rural, western part of Loudoun County with some restrictions: No shooting within 50 yards of a highway or 100 yards of a park, school or occupied building, like a home.

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