With crime soaring in major cities across the country, many Americans no longer feel safe walking down the sidewalk after dark.
But a person’s home is the one place where they should always feel safe and secure.
And a Florida dad held his newborn son tight when his drunk neighbor sent bullets flying through his house.
It was supposed to be a normal night at home in Volusia County, Florida, for Salvador Sotello and his family, which included his newborn infant son.
But while Sotello was holding his son, gunfire suddenly rang out and bullets went soaring through the house.
A call to 911 was placed immediately.
“When bullets started flying into a home on Evergreen Terrace north of DeLand yesterday, the family took cover and called 911,” the Volusia Sheriff’s Office wrote in a news release.
When law enforcement arrived on the scene, they evacuated the adults and children from the home before searching the area for the shooter.
“My girl and my son are in the bathroom laying down,” one of the victims said.
According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the search led them to an intoxicated neighbor’s home on nearby Virginia Avenue.
The neighbor was drunk and had been shooting at a tree in his backyard.
“Deputies got on scene, evacuated the adults and children from the house, and started searching the area,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote. “The shooter turned out to be an intoxicated neighbor on nearby Virginia Avenue who was shooting at a tree in his backyard.”
The neighbor was 38-year-old Alex Kudlack.
Kudlack missed the tree and instead sent multiple rounds into a fence and the back of the neighbor’s house.
When deputies confronted Kudlack about the shooting, he confessed that he had been firing rounds at a tree in his yard.
“I’m a dumba**,”’ he told the police officers.
Fortunately, the drunk neighbor’s bullets missed hitting any people when they went flying through the Sotello residence.
But there was extensive damage to the home.
“Three shots went off, and then within seconds, another ten went off,” Salvador Sotello told WESH-TV. “The window above my head was shattered,” he continued. “I was holding [my newborn son], basically like a football, when I came out of the room.”
“I called 911, and as I’m on the phone, I hear more shots,” Heather Barlip, another resident of the home, said. “By the time they got here, the officer heard another three shots.”
Barlip told reporters she had a message that she wanted to send to Kudlack.
“Next time, think about where you’re at before you start shooting, especially don’t get intoxicated while you’re doing this,” she said.
The incident also left the other neighbors frightened and concerned.
“He’s not too far from an area where he can shoot and not hurt anybody,” neighbor Rick Hilderbrandt said. “But that’s a neighborhood,” he continued. “That’s not right.”
“I’m glad nobody got hurt and he got arrested,” neighbor Jorge Suarez added.
Kudlack was arrested and booked into the Volusia County Jail on one count of shooting into a dwelling, one count of using a firearm while under the influence, two counts of child endangerment, and one count of criminal mischief.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
