What's with the shooting? West Valley security (Phoenix, Scottsdale: crimes, house)

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Maybe you heard gunshots from a desert area near by. They have to be 1/4 mile from houses. That is not a lot and sound carries particularly if there is any wind blowing your direction. There was a change in law recently that stops cities from banning hunters from shooting guns in hunting season in their city limits IIRC.

Okay let's clear this up as far as distances:

BLM Land: 1/4 mile from roads or structures for handguns and shotguns, 1/2 mile for rifles.
State Land: 1 mile from any occupied structure
Municipalities will have their own laws regarding discharging a firearm.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by Discovery1

Now someone started the EAST, WEST valley thing . Childish to the max huh ?

Like totally...

[esiebert7625]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Okay let's clear this up as far as distances:

BLM Land: 1/4 mile from roads or structures for handguns and shotguns, 1/2 mile for rifles.
State Land: 1 mile from any occupied structure
Municipalities will have their own laws regarding discharging a firearm.

BLM is 150 yards from any structure
Target Shooting - Recreation - Arizona BLM

State is 1 mile
13-3107 - Unlawful discharge of firearms; exceptions; classification; definitions

Phoenix is nowhere
Phoenix Municipal Code 23-42 Discharging firearms, BB guns and slung shots prohibited; exceptions.

Scottsdale is nowhere, even with air guns
https://www.municode.com/library/az/...DEVO1_CH19OFIS

Glendale is nowhere, even with air guns
https://www.municode.com/library/az/...archText=26-58

Shannon's Law makes it a felony instead of a misdemeanor
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon's_law_(Arizona)

[Ponderosa]

As I stated earlier, laws regarding hunting were changed in 2011. The authority to regulate areas was given to the state and taken from the cities. The change came about because many cities like Buckeye annexed huge areas of emptiness for future growth and their municipal codes took this land out of hunting territory for sportsmen and women. This only applies to hunting, not target practice etc. As of this year's regulations, the map of the metro area that is CLOSED to hunting is:



Note that many cities or parts of cities are not included in the closed area. In my area for example, one can hunt dove just down the road as long as he is the required distance from buildings even though the Goodyear code does not allow firearm shooting. Hunting is an exception.

It does not appear that the OP's home is outside of the boundary, however, so it must surely have been a home invasion or a mass murder in this instance.

[43north87west]

A lot of what makes Phoenix neighborhoods nice, quiet, and private, also makes them easy pickings for burglary. Unless you have a two-story with a vista of your neighbor's backyard, in a lot of neighborhoods, your view is a wall. Maybe you get mountains over the walls, but you don't see houses. Unless a burglar is spotted by their striped prison uniform and villain's mask, they could parade around inside the neighbor's house all day long without being noticed. Then there is the whole snowbird thing, with a lot of people leaving for long periods of time.

Your chances of being preyed upon are greatly diminished if you aren't keeping very bad company.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by esiebert7625

BLM is 150 yards from any structure
Target Shooting - Recreation - Arizona BLM

State is 1 mile
13-3107 - Unlawful discharge of firearms; exceptions; classification; definitions

Phoenix is nowhere
Phoenix Municipal Code 23-42 Discharging firearms, BB guns and slung shots prohibited; exceptions.

Scottsdale is nowhere, even with air guns
https://www.municode.com/library/az/...DEVO1_CH19OFIS

Glendale is nowhere, even with air guns
https://www.municode.com/library/az/...archText=26-58

Shannon's Law makes it a felony instead of a misdemeanor
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon's_law_(Arizona)

There ya go...thank you!

[asufan]

Originally Posted by dogdayze

Hi all- like I said, I'm not far at all from the Arrowhead malls, so not country and not downtown. North Glendale, with its own PD complete with slick website. All single family homes here with yards in a development. I know the sound of fireworks. NY is crazy for them. I also know gunshots, think rural, not urban. People come up from the city and start blowing off rounds for fun. This was definitely a single gun close by, 4 shots, then later 3, percussion rate not indicative of an automatic weapon. I was amazed to hear it considering the neighborhood. Its usually very quiet here. Commuter neighborhood.

It probably would have been less freaky to hear the shots if someone had not rung my doorbell about 20 minutes earlier. No one rings my doorbell. Ever. The neighbors dogs were going nuts between that and the shots, but then they usually are barking,... Hard to gauge by that.

To be clear, I don't begrudge the PD anything. They've already given more than most of us would. I'm very conflicted about the gun issue. Too many people shot with their own, and it would certainly escalate the potential for violence. Quiet tonight, so far. If it happens again I might see you at the next gun show. Thanks all.

There's actually a county island just a little South of the Arrowhead Mall around Acoma between 83rd Ave and 67th Ave, and as far North as Greenway Rd in some parts. This is an area that is NOT in the city limits and is likely where the dove hunting goes on. This happens in county islands all over the valley, not just on the West side.

[leavingIL]

Originally Posted by dogdayze

Up until tonight I rather liked the Phoenix area, thought I might stay long term(hiking's great!), but I'm sure not gonna live like that, locked in a house, panic button in hand, waiting to be preyed on and unable to protect my family. Can some please explain WTF is going on with the home invasions in this city? Gunshots at 8 pm and no one even blinks??

Thanks.

That's insane. Even people on south side Chicago don't just sit in their homes, holed up and praying they're not a victim of a crime. Really, cool it. My neighborhood, you used to hear gunshots pretty regularly. At least once every two weeks. And there were certainly people getting shot. But there were probably 20,000+ people in my neighborhood alone, assume that's even where the shots came from. The chances of me being a victim were about 0. My girlfriend even goes for night walks alone, sometimes with the pistol and sometimes without. And I've never ONCE worried about her. If you live your life in fear, if you look like you're afraid, if you think that the world is just waiting on its chance to pounce on you, then sooner or later it will probably happen if for no other reason than your entire persona screams "VICTIM!!"

And that whole "How do you explain that story??" thing is crazy too. To presume that two events that scared you are related simply because, to you, they were both scary, and because they happened in pretty similar geographic areas, is a totally out-there logical fallacy. Just because your neighborhood is quiet doesn't mean someone didn't realize they rang the wrong doorbell (maybe the person whose door they intended to wring didn't own dogs, which was a dead giveaway?), maybe they changed their mind, maybe they have a total fear of dogs, maybe your doorbell wires are too close or something, maybe it was the postman trying to give you an oversized package and you didn't see where he left it on the porch... jesus the list could go on forever.

You sound like you need to just relax and take a deep breath. The whole world isn't just chomping at the bit to hit the streets and kill/rape/rob/assult you. The most advice someone like you could get would just be to BE STREET SMART.

[Montanama]

I think asufan's info on the county island is the most likely explanation. Also, they fire guns to start golf tournament, track events, and cross country meets though I admit those are less plausible. Still, there are a dozen possible explanations for hearing gunfire that would pose no threat to you and certainly bear no relationship to someone coming to your door. Is it possible there was a criminal on the loose? Yes, possible. Even so, I would see it as a very isolated incident unless you are living in a pretty sketchy area, which you aren't.

If you're really worried, get some pepper spray or bear spray, one of those personal alarms, and/or a can of wasp spray & set them beside your bed for peace of mind.

Or, you could get a security system--you can get them very cheaply now and put them in yourself. You could have had a camera on your door, and then you would have been reassured that it was only the Mormons. Or the Jehovah's Witnesses. Or those kids selling that cleaner who also purportedly case your house to come back later and rob you...oh, sorry, not helping.

I know you're shaken up and worried, so I'm focusing on what you can do to feel more in control of the situation even though a home invasion is extremely unlikely to occur even in a bad neighborhood. Your problem right now is not the crime rate (you can go online and find the crime statistics for your part of town to reassure yourself), it's your own fear. Can you call the sheriff's office and find out if in fact there were any shootings reported? I'm sorry if you already related that, I missed it.

All that failing, I suggest you distract yourself with other concerns. Plenty to choose from here in the valley and they're all right here on the forum for your perusal: Kissing bugs! Rattle snakes at the front door! Scorpions in your back yard! Termites! And, not to alarm you, but have you SEEN the big *ss cockroaches they have around here? They come right up your plumbing pipes. Not. Even. Kidding.

[dogdayze]

Update- Mystery solved. Here it is exactly the same day of the week, and exactly the same time of evening, and more 'gunshots'. Except, these sound a bit more 'soggy' (maybe the humidity?) so because you all have convinced me its almost certainly not a gunman in my back yard, I run to the window, look out, and didn't see it at first but then,.. Fireworks.

In my defense, although I live in a good area of an HOA and my direct neighbors keep a nice place, just a block away many of the houses are run down and unkempt. Though there's been no actual crime there, had I known that when I saw this place, I probably would not have signed the lease. And then I'd have missed out on my amazing backyard oasis. Its the irony of Phoenix living, I guess.

There have also been three burglaries in a 2 mile radius in the past 30 days. Doesn't make one feel all that warm and fuzzy, sorry.