CHARLESTOWN, R.I. -- Gunmen hanging out of a low-flying helicopter were shooting at the ground, neighbors reported to the Charlestown Police Department at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Sgt. Philip B. Gingerella Sr. responded to the first caller's house. The resident "told me that he just witnessed a dark-colored helicopter in the air behind his house with individuals firing high-powered weapons from it down into the gravel bank. He was very upset and worried for the safety of his family and his neighbors," Gingerella wrote in his report.
The resident walked Gingerella to the edge of his property, from which the officer could see a helicopter on the ground and two men walking toward the entrance of the gravel bank. He went to the entrance and recognized the men, Jonathan L. Smith Jr., 33, and Jordan M. Dolock, 32, both of Charlestown.
They said they had been shooting at an abandoned vehicle in the gravel bank. Dean Francis Scalera identified himself as the pilot. Gingerella asked why he thought it was a good idea with neighborhoods on both sides of the gravel bank. Scalera said he felt he was flying low enough to be safe and knew of pilots who have done the same in Texas.
He was advised that this was Rhode Island.
Officers secured the weapons and took everyone's name. The weapons and target vehicle were checked against NCIC and did not show up as stolen or involved in any crime. No one was charged, but the Boston and Washington offices of the Federal Aviation Administration have opened an investigation, the report said.