Antrim Township family fed up after windows repeatedly shot out – Herald-Mail Media

STATE LINE, Pa. A few years ago, Foster Souders bought a home in the Cedarbrook development in southern Antrim Township, Pa., as a retirement investment, and renting the house to his stepson made the situation all the more attractive.

That was until someone began shooting out all of the second-story windows on one side of the home in an otherwise quiet State Line-area neighborhood.

Since spring 2015, the four windows have been damaged by gunfire four times, with the latest being two weeks ago.

Souders expects his bills for replacement of the glass to reach $5,000 with the current repairs that are needed to the home off U.S. 11 north of State Line.

This time, we're going to try something different with the glass, and it will run upward of $1,200 to $1,500, he said.We are thinking we need to put some protection over the glass itself. That's the next step.

In addition to the cost of repairs, the matter of safety is of prime concern to the family.

I'm not scared physically, said Chris Churchill, who moved his family from Hagerstown so his 10-year-old daughter could attend Greencastle-Antrim schools.But it's constantly on my mind. I check the windows each morning.Could they do something worse? I wouldn't think, but who knows?

While no one in the family has been injured, Churchill's daughter has moved out of her bedroom.

The first time it happened, it was spring, and I was on vacation doing things around the house, Churchill said. We went upstairs around 9 o'clock, and the window in the bathroom had been shot out. All four windows on that side of the house have been shot out multiple times.

My daughter couldn't sleep at night, so we had to change her to another room. She was my biggest concern. Since she's been out of the room, she's fine.

Souders did more than repair the damage by adding motion-activated surveillance cameras to the property. So far, the lens has not picked up anything.

Pennsylvania State Police were called to investigate after each shooting, including the latest in early March. Telephone calls from Herald-Mail Media to state police weren't returned.

We didn't know if it was kids or what, Churchill said of the first incident. We asked around the neighborhood. We didn't have any issues with anybody. A neighbor across the street said the windows had gotten shot out before we moved in.

"There were issues over dogs. We do have dogs who bark sometimes, but they stay in the fenced yard.

The gunshots never have penetrated the home's inner window, but pellets have remained in between window panes.

The shots have, in some cases, caused the whole window to shatter and, in one case, it eventually fell into the adjacent bathroom.

The sides of the family's swimming pool in the backyard also have been sprayed with gunshots.

I don't know what to do, Souders said. I have looked into solid glass, but the price is exorbitant. And that's still not bulletproof. It's going to chip off if they keep shooting at it.

The worse part is that, emotionally, it's taken its toll on our granddaughter more than anybody.

Churchill said the family has considered moving.

Maybe somebody knows something that they haven't told anybody, Souders said. I have thought about offering a reward. I don't have an endless supply of money, but when I think of what I've already spent, if I had put that $4,000 or $5,000 into a reward, I may have gotten somebody to come forward.

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Antrim Township family fed up after windows repeatedly shot out - Herald-Mail Media