Riding home about ten minutes ago and off to my left I heard a popping noise from across the street (from a car?) nearly simultaneously I felt a dull thwack on my arm. I immediately presumed I had been sniped with a BB.
I rode on, ponderously, for about 500 meters and considered the possibility that I was thwacked with a rock shot off of a car tire. I have done it plenty with my high pressure bike tires; but never across a street, through moving traffic.
So I stopped, removed my jacket to inspect the impact mark. It was smallish, and metal flakes appeared te be left in my jacket. Could still be a rock but less likely. So I called the police and reported the incident.
I am still waiting for them to arrive and it has been nearly 15 minutes or as long as it has taken to write and edit this post on an iPhone.
I am getting cold and will be leaving soon if they don’t show up.
Mostly I am interested in corroborating with other victims/stories if indeed someone is firing at passersby.
Update: the sheriff showed up about five minutes later. Apologized for keeping me – he was clearing a home after a burglary – took my report and mentioned that it was likely a pellet gun shot out of a passing vehicle. So guessed because of other recent reports closer into Renton.
blief 
My head is about to explode with anger!! How dare somebody do that and especially to you!!! Grrr….let me at ’em, let me at ’em!!!
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Where has civilization gone in this country? Makes a person want to “carry”, in order to be prepared to defend oneself against a future onslaught.
Of course, you wouldn’t have been able to positively identify who/where the pellet came from, so no immediate revenge. I hope the police eventually catch up with this coward!
Worried Grandpa Z
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For the record – I wasn’t injured at all. The impact was “lame” enough so as not to even penetrate my thin nylon windbreaker. Flying insects have left a more delible print.
The THOUGHT of it is really bad – although at the time I wasn’t upset at all.
Abby said that if the cop found those “kids who thought this was a funny game he would really give them a talking to and probably call their parents.”
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That is too bad, but at least you are not wounded beside you aint got time to bleed.
The problem is that someone probably thinks it is funny and harmless, but they don’t bother to consider what happens if the pellet hits someone in the eye or causes a cyclist to flinch in pain and then crash or veer into traffic and get wiped out by a car. What they also don’t consider is that they may end up pointing that peashooter at someone who is carrying a real gun and wind up in a pine box. I can tell you that a lot of those pellet guns look identical to the real thing.
Tom
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Hooligans… as soon as you take away their pellet gun though, they’ll just roll up behind you and blast their horn, or aim for a nice big puddle. Glad you weren’t hurt at least.
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Abby’s got the right idea, but I am still sickened by it. I am glad you were not injured, but my barely ‘hanging-on-by-a-thread-faith-in-mankind’ has been jarred again. Ugh.
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Sorry to hear it. Glad you reported it. Glad you are okay.
To quote my Mom “never a dull moment”. Never thought I would wish for dull, but yeah, a doldrum never looked like such a good idea.
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