A man has been charged with arson in connection to a New Jersey wildfire sparked by a shotgun round, officials say
By Alaa Elassar, CNN
(CNN) — A man has been charged with arson after officials say he fired an illegal shotgun round that sparked a wildfire in Jackson Township, New Jersey, scorching 350 acres of land and prompting evacuations in the surrounding community.
Richard Shashaty, 37, has been charged with arson and violation of the regulatory provisions relating to firearms, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette announced in a joint statement Saturday.
Officials said they determined the origin of the fire, dubbed the Shotgun Fire, was “behind a berm in the Southwest corner of the Rifle Club, and the fire was caused by magnesium shards of a Dragons Breath 12 gauge shotgun round igniting available combustibles on the berm of the shooting range.”
The firing of this type of incendiary or tracer ammunition is prohibited in New Jersey, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Dragon’s Breath ammunition is a specialized type of shotgun shell that contains exothermic pyrophoric metal mesh as the projectile with the primary purpose of generating a burst of flame or a fireball upon firing, effectively simulating the effect of a flamethrower. Three states prohibit the manufacture, purchase and possession of this ammunition and it is illegal in at least 10 others, according to the Giffords Law Center.
Shashaty surrendered himself to police headquarters with his attorney on Saturday and was transported to the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
On Wednesday, 15 homes were evacuated as a result of the wildfire and 25 homes were threatened, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
Among those evacuated were Barbara Ventre and Jean Paul Bergeron, who feared their home would not survive the fire after seeing smoke and being ordered to leave, CNN affiliate News 12 New Jersey reported.
“Oh, this was horrendous. Never been this close,” Ventre told News 12. “My daughter and I packed up important papers and all of our prescriptions and got the dog, grabbed everybody, and when they said, ‘Go,’ we were ready to go.”
Evacuees were allowed to return home late Wednesday as fire crews achieve 90% containment.
“God bless our firefighters,” said Bergeron. “I have a home to come back to because of all of our firefighters out here for the last two days.”
Dragon’s Breath ammunition “should be used with caution as it can cause fires if it lands in dry brush, trees or other flammable objects,” says Texas ammunition seller KIR Ammo in its product description page. “Therefore, it is important to use this type of ammunition only in a safe and controlled setting with the proper precautions in place.”
This type of ammunition gained popularity after being featured in the film “John Wick 4” and is not made for self-defense or hunting purposes, but for entertainment purposes and producing visual effects in “controlled settings,” according to KIR Ammo.
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