Child, dog shot and injured by possible air-soft gun in Mason City

MASON CITY – An unknown culprit is apparently shooting children and animals with an air-soft or pellet gun in a North End neighborhood.

NIT learned that on Tuesday afternoon at about 4 PM, a dog owner at the 1500 block of North Penn Avenue called police about her dog being shot. Mindy Flaten told police that her dog, Demon, was shot in the chest as it was outside in the backyard on a chain. Demon yelped when he was shot, and her boyfriend Lee went to check on him and discovered a small wound on the dog. He was taken to a vet for treatment; the wound was not serious.

Mindy and Lee told NIT that they suspect a person that lives nearby shot Demon, which is half min pin and pug. Their backyard is surrounded by thick bushes and leaves with no clear shot into the backyard area. They suspect the culprit snuck up close to or into their backyard and fired the shot that hit the dog.

The couple also informed that a child living next door was also recently shot by an air-soft or pellet gun.

A knock on the neighboring door confirmed that story. A 9-year-old boy, Dallas, was shot with an air-soft gun directly in the middle of his forehead about a month ago, his mother explained. They said a teen that is about 15-years-old has an air-soft gun and lives “down the street”. Dallas said a boy who was his friend shot him with the gun and that the boy gave the gun to his older brother who lives in the same house. They said they called police and reported the incident but no action was taken.

Airsoft guns shoot small, lightweight plastic BBs that could take out an eye, and many parenting websites warn of the dangers of these items, which are usually referred to as “firearms”.

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