NEW FRANKLIN, Ohio — Terry Riegler and his wife Jill were packing the car with food to go to Terry’s mother’s house Sunday afternoon when they heard gunshots in the distance.

“We heard a big, loud gunshot and I was like, ‘Oh, they’re shooting again,'” Riegler said. “Jill, for some reason, said, ‘Boy, that looked close.'”

This wasn’t the first time the couple felt bullets fly by; however, this time it was something they didn’t expect.

The couple said they could see the bullet, which they said came from a neighborhood beyond their yard, hit the gravel driveway and ultimately hit Riegler in the leg.

“It felt like someone took a ball peen hammer and hit my leg,” Riegler said. “It was just an intense, immediate slam.”

Riegler told News 5 the bullet narrowly missed an artery in his leg.

Photo courtesy of Jill Riegler

His doctor said he is expected to make a full recovery.

Although Riegler does well after filming, not everything is so.

“It was quite traumatic. I’m still shaking,” Jill Riegler said. “You know, I had to go home and get a towel and put pressure on it, and I’m yelling at them to stop. And the neighbors heard me, so a group of neighbors came. I had to yell at them to come down.”

She said it was scary trying to make sure everyone was safe. The couple are gun owners themselves, but would like people to use common sense and follow the law.

“I’m sure no one was directly trying to shoot me. But just be responsible,” Terry Riegler said. “You know you’re supposed to be out of stock. You have to shoot it. Be responsible and be responsible.

New Franklin Detective Michael Hitchings told News 5 they would like the person who fired the shot to come forward. Hitchings said they could face a third-degree misdemeanor for negligent assault if they don’t.

“If someone gets hit anywhere else in the chest or head, they will be dead,” Hutchings said. We don’t want to see this for someone who does target practice. »

This wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened in Summit County. In 2022, a bullet went through the window of a home in Northfield Center Township.

Residents worried after bullet hits house

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