Stray bullets from Marana shooting range hit nearby park in separate incident in 2020 | News

MARANA, AZ – News 4 Tucson can now confirm stray bullets from a Marana shooting range hit nearby Gladden Farms Community Park in 2020, some five years before the incident at the park’s playground last Wednesday.

The first incident occurred in 2020 at the baseball field, just feet away from the playground.

At the time of the initial incident, the Town of Marana tells News 4 Tucson it wrote a letter to then Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and his office in an effort to get Brnovich and his team to open an investigation.

“The attorney general’s office responded telling us they found it to be an anomaly so nothing was done,” Vic Hathaway, the Town of Marana Communications Manager, said.

But, after last week’s incident at the nearby playground, the town is in the process of writing another letter to Attorney General Kris Mayes in hopes her office will launch an investigation.

“Five years later, as our town manager has said, happened once is too much, happens twice is unacceptable,” Hathaway said.

Last Wednesday’s incident occurred during a Sahuarita Police Department rifle training session when a round traveled beyond the boundaries of the range.

The Marana Shooting Club said it only rents out the space eight days a month and right now that field where the shooting happened is closed. The Town of Marana is speaking with the owners of the gun range to ensure safety is top of mind.

“We are communicating directly with the owners of the gun range and exploring ways we can prevent this from ever happening again,” Hathaway said. “Whether that is changing the orientation of the fields themselves or better signage, we lean on the gun range owners to make those changes to make sure our community is safer.”

Abrams Airborne Manufacturing provided News 4 Tucson this statement Tuesday afternoon:

“On October 15, 2025, an incident occurred in which projectiles left the confines of the range. The cause and circumstances are currently under investigation by local law enforcement. We are grateful to the Marana Police Department for their prompt response and coordination.

As the facility administrator, Abrams Airborne Manufacturing is reviewing all posted safety guidelines and strengthening existing range-safety protocols to prevent any future occurrences. The bay involved in the incident is closed pending the outcome of this review. All other areas of the facility remain open and compliant with applicable state safety requirements.

We remain fully committed to the safety of our community and the responsible operation of this facility.”

The Oro Valley Police Department is now investigating whether to recommend the Pima County Attorney’s Office file charges in this case. Sahuarita PD is conducting its own investigation.

“For us, the best thing that we can do is serve as advocates for the safety of our community,” Hathaway said.