Family surprised by .223 caliber bullet fired into their Prince William County home

BRISTOW, Va. - A Prince William County family was caught off guard when a bullet came buzzing through their home.

It happened Tuesday afternoon along Erroll Lane in Bristow, a quiet street that backs up to a wooded trail. Nearby is a construction site with a sign that makes it clear firing a weapon of any kind is illegal.

The homeowner said the bullet entered through one wall, went into the kitchen where it ricocheted off another wall and then dropped to the ground on the floor of her breakfast room.

Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the homeowner said she was just 10 feet from where the bullet came flying in.

The .223 caliber bullet, typically used for rifles, was fired at around 5:20 p.m. Police told the homeowner it may have come from as far as Vint Hill Road, which is about a mile away.

No one has any idea why someone would fire a gun in the area. There are deer in the area and we spotted two deer right behind a sign that says no trespassing along with no shooting, hunting or dumping in the area on Wednesday night.

Neighbors said the incident is reckless and extremely dangerous, and one resident said he wants police to get to the bottom of it.

"It's very concerning and especially there are a lot of woods back there," said Paul Potter. "So some nut as far as I'm concerned has a gun. … You ought to be able to pull the trajectory off of that and find out where the bullet came from."

Just beyond the construction site is a day care center with a playground. Police do not believe the gunshot was targeted. They said it is more likely that it was an errant shot.

In 2016 and 2017, there were a number of cases of bullets fired into homes seemingly at random. FOX 5 reported on incidents that happened in Manassas and Woodbridge. However, there was no connection ever reported.

If you have any information about this incident, Prince William County police would like to hear from you.