CLEVELAND COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office deputies are thankful that a stray bullet from a gunfire exchange didn’t hit any bystanders. They’re investigating the incident at a residential neighborhood in Newalla, saying that the stray bullet went through an uninvolved neighbor’s window, near a child’s bedroom.

“With all the shots fired, with all the residents around and several of them being inside of their houses when it happened hearing the gunshots, it could have been a lot worse,” said Cleveland County Sheriff’s Offices Spokesperson Hunter McKee.

He said deputies were alerted to shots fired in the 19500 block of Dove Ln. in Newalla Wednesday around 12:30 p.m.

They report that in a confrontation outside of his home, Bryan Hill allegedly fired a shotgun at a work van being driven by Joseph Welch.

Deputies later caught up with Welch at a nearby gas station and learned that he had shot at Hill as well, reportedly.

“He denied firing the shots, but finally he did tell one of our investigators that he did fire shots,” McKee explained. “He had actually had a pistol and he had thrown the pistol out the window before getting to the gas station.”

Deputies would find the gun and arrest both men. 

Scarily, during the exchange of gunfire, a stray bullet had entered the window of a neighbor near her child’s bedroom. Thankfully, no one was hurt in this situation.

“Going through a window, I mean, that’s about as close as it can get and about as scary as it gets,” McKee said. “Especially if her kids were home, it could have been awful for her and what their family would have had to go through.”

Official charges have not been filed yet for either man, but the complaints for Hill’s arrest were assault with a deadly weapon and reckless conduct with a firearm.