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Fight To Shut Down Decades-Old Gun Range Continues In Westchester

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The fight to shut down a gun range continues in Westchester County.

Residents in new luxury homes along Ardsley Road in Greenburgh pleaded with the town board Wednesday to close the decades-old Westchester County Police Revolver and Rifle League after a bullet fragment grazed a woman in a backyard last month.

Fight To Shut Down Decades-Old Gun Range Continues In Westchester

"It hits a grown woman in her leg, if that had been my child that would have hit her head," one resident said.

"We are lucky that this incident did not result in the death of a child," another resident said.

"This is a really stupid place to have a shooting range," one man said.

"This issue is not whether you're for or against guns, this issue is about not wanting my family to get shot or killed," another man said.

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner is crafting a new law requiring that gun ranges be a quarter of a mile away from schools and homes, WCBS 880's Sean Adams reported. There would also be safety standards and insurance requirements.

The Westchester Police Revolver and Rifle League is a private non-profit dating back to the 1940s and is not affiliated with a police agency. It sits in an old quarry and was once relatively isolated, but new homes sit a few hundred feet away on the other side of a 30-foot tall sheer rock wall, Adams reported.

A spokesman for the gun range told the town board they are willing to work toward a solution.

"We started planning on making changes to the range to ensure the public's safety," the spokesman said. "All we are asking for is a chance to ensure your safety."

The group voluntarily ceased operations as police investigate the June 12 incident and contacted experts to review the range, the spokesman said.

The range leases the property from Consolidated Edison, which is also reviewing the matter.

Residents claim they're finding additional bullet fragments on their property.

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