Stray Bullet Hits Rogers County Man

A Rogers County man was shot while working in his yard East of Oologah Saturday. He says the bullet that went through his arm, could have hit him in the head or even hit one of his grandchildren.

The Rogers County Sheriff's office says they get calls about shots being fired every day, sometimes several times a day.

People think they're out in the country so it's safe to shoot, but, the country is a lot more populated than it used to be and a bullet can travel more than a mile.

Mike Fawcett has been through a lot lately. His home caught on fire Christmas eve night; they only saved a TV and a few presents.

He was trying to clean up some things Saturday afternoon when he heard a loud pop and something hit his arm.

"Reached to get this pot and the bullet hit my arm," said gunshot victim Mike Fawcett. "Went in there, and came out here and hit the wall here."

He wasn't sure what happened at first, then his hand went numb and he unbuttoned his shirt and saw all the blood. 

"Pulled back the shirt and I could see the hole. I didn't see the other hole 'til I got to the hospital," he said.

Doctors said it missed his bone by an eighth of an inch, but he was thinking that it missed a lot more important things. 

"If I had taken a step, gone through the middle of me," he said. "If I bent over a little further, probably would've hit me in the head."

He says the bullet came from this direction. It's likely the person firing the gun had no idea he hit someone, but Mike - who is all about guns and hunting - says this type of accident is inexcusable.

"Safe gun ownership is the most important thing there is," said Mike Fawcett, Rogers County shooting victim. 

The sheriff says people must think about their backdrop when shooting, they can't just put a target on a fencepost with nothing behind it but open space. He says Rogers County now has 88,000 people living in it, so living in the country doesn't mean you're all alone for miles any more.

"They think they're moving out to the country, and we can just crank rounds off wherever we want," said Sheriff Scott Walton, Rogers County.

Not only are Mike and his family dealing with a devastating fire, but he is now thinking about what else he could've lost because of a stray bullet.

"My grandkids play out here and she's about that tall. That just breaks you up," he said.

Sheriff's deputies found the man who fired the shot and talked to him that night. They will forward their report to the District Attorney's Office for possible charges of reckless handling of a firearm.