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M/CLEAR Temp: 44 °F Wind: NW at 4 mph Tuesday, April 1, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend April 1, 2003 Backyard shooting leaves police perplexed A Rogue River 70-year-old is hit in the shoulder with a 22-caliber bullet while mowing his lawn ROGUE RIVER — A 70-year-old Rogue River man was shot and wounded Monday afternoon while mowing his backyard lawn, and police remained unsure late Monday whether the shooting was an accident. Jack Pyle told police that he heard a pop and felt sharp pain in his upper left shoulder about 1:30 p.m. while mowing in his back yard at 512 Pine St., Rogue River police said. Pyle telephoned Rogue River police Chief Ken Lewis, who found Pyle wounded by what appeared to be a .22-caliber bullet fired from a long distance, Lewis said. Witnesses reported hearing several shots in the area about the time Pyle was shot, but the source of the shots remained unknown to police Monday evening. "At this point, we don’t know what we have here," Lewis said. "I’m just glad no one else has been shot." Pyle was taken by ambulance to the Rogue Valley Medical Center in Medford, where he was treated and released Monday, police said. Just hours into the investigation on Monday, Lewis said he was unsure if the victim was intentionally or accidentally shot. Pyle’s home is just two blocks from Rogue River Elementary School, a public park and two churches. Lewis said he told teachers at Hope Presbyterian Church to get the children off the playground and get them inside as he drove by to investigate the suspected site of the shooter. "I told them we had a shooter and to get those kids inside," Lewis said. "They sure did." The angle of the bullet’s entry into Pyle’s shoulder and the topography of adjacent areas led Lewis and Gold Hill police Chief Rod Countryman to suspect that the shot was fired from a hilly section near the town’s water tower. Police searched the area for suspects and shell casings, but turned up nothing. Police took Pyle’s blood-stained shirt, and preliminary tests convinced Lewis that the bullet was not fired from an air-rifle or pellet gun. "I think it was definitely a 22-caliber, probably fired from some distance away," Lewis said. Police are asking anyone who has information about anyone shooting in the Rogue River area on Monday afternoon to telephone Rogue River police at 541-582-4931. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S