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Gaston County woman pelted by paintball while driving

By Ken Lemon, wsoctv.com
By Ken Lemon, wsoctv.com

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A Gaston County woman said she shot in the neck with a paintball recently while she was driving along North New Hope Road.

Haley, who didn’t want her last name used, said she is still feeling the sting. She showed Channel 9 the welt.

"Turning it into something that's not so fun anymore,” she said. “It scared me to death."

[Paintball shooters say it's just a game: 'We're not doing anything violent']

Police say people were firing at each other in what they call Paintball Wars. Cars throughout the area were splattered with paint.

[Police, homeowners angered by Charlotte paintball wars]

The organizers of the wars in Charlotte last week told Channel 9 they will move away from areas where bystanders can get hurt.

Haley said she is stunned to learn that some people are still shooting in public.

"They are going to shoot somebody and they are going to hurt somebody,” she said.

The Paintball Wars is a craze that is taking off in the Charlotte area.

David Veledof, owner of a paintball shop in Belmont, said customers wait outside his door when he opens, especially when a new shipment of paintball supplies arrives.

“We started with 70 guns on our wall for paintball and we are down to five or six now,” Veledof said. "People are putting real guns down and picking up paintball guns."

One of the customers, who didn’t want to be identified, said they meet at a secure place where no one else can get hurt.

Police say shooting in public is dangerous not just because someone can get injured, but they worry that people who hear the shots and see the barrel might think it's from a real gun.

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