Dale Becker neared the end of his usual bike route when he felt a sudden sharp pain. Someone from a passing car shot at him from their window, hitting him and possibly one of his dogs. The car drove away, leaving Becker in shock. He thought he and his dog had just taken a bullet, only to see a big, bloody splotch on his side caused by an air rifle.
“I looked back to see if I was all right, and I just kind of froze,” Becker said. “I thought, ‘Did that really just happen’ … and, ‘Oh my god, is this the end?’” Becker didn’t know what type of air rifle shot him. He initially believed it to be a BB gun, but the automatic firing he described is more of a characteristic in airsoft guns or gel blasters, which shoot rubber pellets and water beads. Becker said the car at first passed him slowly and he didn’t think much of it. When it circled around again, someone inside landed three hits to Becker’s legs and torso. He couldn’t find any marks on his dogs the day after the shooting, but thinks one of them may have been hit too.
The shooter’s car drove by two more times before the police arrived. Becker didn’t see the license plate or the people driving. He said the police patrolled until 6 a.m., but didn’t find the suspect. Becker goes on bike rides with his chihuahuas whenever he can. He modified his bicycle with an electric motor and a cage mounted on back for the dogs, a project he said he’s worked on during the pandemic. They have been riding at night to avoid the daytime heat. Becker is not the first to be randomly shot by an air rifle. Other residents in Belleville have also experienced similar random shootings, he said.
“It’s just something that’s gonna grow until they outlaw (air rifles) or classify them as harmful and get them out of the toy category,” Becker said. In November 2023, FOX 2 reporter Andy Banker was hit in the head by an air rifle bullet on a street in St. Louis. Before that shooting, Missouri State Representative Steve Buts was hit as he was walking to his house. On June 22, someone pulled out a gel blaster in an AMC theatre in Creve Coeur, Missouri, and started shooting at the audience.
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