BB Pellet Shatters School Bus Window

A pellet from a BB gun shattered a Fairfax County Public School bus window last week. At 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 16, a school bus with students on board was traveling in the 7200 block of Sterling Grove Dr. in Springfield when the window was shot from the outside. No one was hurt. 

"We're not sure if it was fired intentionally at the bus, but it [the pellet] came from outside while the bus was moving," said Fairfax County Police spokesperson Shelly Broderick. 

The 7200 block of Sterling Grove is in a residential neighborhood. In April, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill 96-2 that lifted restrictions against "pneumatic weapons". Made into law in July, the bill made it legal for homeowners and guests to shoot bb guns on private property.

Such weapons, "from paintball guns to pellet guns that shoot at 1,000 feet per second—have long been treated as regular firearms under Fairfax County's code," according to the Washington Examiner. "Their use is generally prohibited in heavily populated areas and near schools and highways."

The Democrat-led Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will take on the issue in its Dec. 6 meeting. The Board will attempt to ban the possession of bb guns on school grounds, "with an exemption for persons participating in school-sponsored activities," according to the Draft 2012 Fairfax County Legislative Program.