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Mystery bullet injures man in Rowlett yard

by SHON GABLES

WFAA

Posted on June 13, 2010 at 10:01 PM


ROWLETT — The mysterious shooting of Michael Domin — a husband and father of five — is the focus of a major investigation in Rowlett.

While sitting on a tractor in his own backyard on Saturday afternoon, he was struck in the back with a .22-caliber bullet.

Domin's wife Toni, too shaken to speak on camera, said he's lucky to be alive. "He managed to turn the machine off and come to the door and he collapsed on the kitchen floor and said, 'I think I'm shot!' And I was like, 'What?!'"

Police are investigating where the bullet came from. Garland's public shooting range sits about a mile away from the Domins' backyard.

"I can hear the popping of the guns when they shoot them," said Gail Cepak, a neighbor of the victim. "You can hear them many nights."

If the bullet came from that location, it would have had to travel through the City of Garland's dump as well as an abandoned church building before speeding over the Domins' wooden fence.

Police said they don't believe the shooting was intentional.

"I think its a one-in-a-million time deal that happened," said neighbor Ronnie Cepak. "It's not like a war zone out here on a regular basis."

Domin's wife, however, believes the shooter may have taken aim from the ten acres of tree-lined property directly behind their backyard. She said the bullet nicked her husband's pancreas and lodged in his lung.

"He had his breathing tube taken out this morning. He's talking, he's moving, and there's no damage to his spine," Toni Domin said. "He'll make a full recovery."

Neighbors like Ryan Nguyen said they plan to be extra careful while spending time outdoors. "Especially if I'm mowing the lawn ... I would be afraid and look behind my back and see what's going on," he said.

We checked; a .22-caliber projectile can travel approximately one mile in a straight line.

E-mail sgables@wfaa.com

We checked; a .22-caliber projectile can travel approximately one mile in a straight line.

Uh, no! A .22 can reach one mile if fired at a 45 degree upward angle, resulting in a high arc trajectory.

Once it is fired, it begins to fall to the ground at 32 feet per second. A six foot person firing the rifle level means the bullet would hit the ground in 1/5 second.

The velocity of .22 rimfire rounds is from 1000-1300 feet per second. So in that 1/5 second, the farthest the bullet could go when fired level would be from 200-260 feet.

Therefore, rifles are not fired level. Sights are adjusted so that the barrel is angled upward to the degree necessary to extend its range as needed by the shooter.

Sights do not allow sufficient elevation to reach a mile. Someone had to aim the rifle upwards at a 45 angle, which means it could not have crossed adjoining properties level. It would have been dropping from its high arc.

Mike Earls

Mike1951 wrote:I sent this to the alleged reporter.

We checked; a .22-caliber projectile can travel approximately one mile in a straight line.

Uh, no! A .22 can reach one mile if fired at a 45 degree upward angle, resulting in a high arc trajectory.

Once it is fired, it begins to fall to the ground at 32 feet per second. A six foot person firing the rifle level means the bullet would hit the ground in 1/5 second.

The velocity of .22 rimfire rounds is from 1000-1300 feet per second. So in that 1/5 second, the farthest the bullet could go when fired level would be from 200-260 feet.

Therefore, rifles are not fired level. Sights are adjusted so that the barrel is angled upward to the degree necessary to extend its range as needed by the shooter.

Sights do not allow sufficient elevation to reach a mile. Someone had to aim the rifle upwards at a 45 angle, which means it could not have crossed adjoining properties level. It would have been dropping from its high arc.

Mike Earls

I think my numbers are close.

Domin's lawsuit requests that the outdoor range ban longer-distance ammunition and install more safety barriers.
...
Rowlett police determined the bullet was on a downward trajectory, but police spokesman John Ellison says "there is no actual evidence that would support the fact that the bullet was fired from the range."