Gunshots Fired by Target Shooters Nearby Crow Canyon Alarm Neighbors on Sunday

Story updated March 12, 2:52 p.m.

Gunshots fired on a property off Crow Canyon Road on Sunday afternoon prompted neighbors to call police.

Several gunshots were fired around around 1:22 p.m. on private property near Crow Canyon Road, according Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. A helicopter circled the area shortly after to track down the shooters.

Neighbor told Patch that they could hear the police speaking to the residents over a loudspeaker.

Nelson said police were able to locate the property owners who were target shooting their own registered guns. No arrests were made.

A Castro Valley Patch reader commented on Patch's Facebook page, saying that the gunshots could be heard from Palomares Hills.

A Palomares Hills neighborhood watch group sent out an email blast yesterday saying that half a dozen suspects were detained on Sunday for suspicion of shooting at wildlife as reported by the Sheriff's Office. Patch received a confirmation from a dispatcher that this was true, but Nelson said this was inaccurate.

He said that although there have been cases of people occasionally shooting at coyotes, poaching is not common in the area.

Patch spoke with one of one of the neighborhood watch members — who wished to go unnamed — on Monday afternoon. She told Patch she received the information she sent in the e-mail from a Sheriff's dispatcher but did not followup afterwards.

"I've been told by neighbors that there's frequent poaching here," she said.

She added that she's heard of people often hunting deer in the area.

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