# Being shot at in Spain



## rolyk (Aug 24, 2007)

Travelling south through France a few weeks ago we met a caravanning couple on a campsite near Limoges who were travelling back from Spain.

On their way down to Spain some weeks earlier their caravan and towing car were both fired on, they thought by an air rifle. I think that they said it was in Barcelona but not sure. The bodywork of both car and caravan had pellet indentations, both close the wheels. They reported it to the police who weren't too interested but suggested that the tyres were the target. 

I wouldn't have thought that an air rifle has sufficient power to penetrate a tyre so I'm not sure of the motive. Has anyone heard of anything similar?

Roly


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## Dan_The_Man (May 19, 2008)

Pellets would indeed make deep indentations in the bodywork, luckily no way would a tyre be damaged. Assuming they were on the move then it must have been incredibly good shooting (rapid fire) to hit both car and caravan. Is it more likely that stones were thrown up - possibly by a passing vehicle ? 
Or a local farmer out with a shotgun after bunnies had a few pellets stray through a hedge ?
Either way not nice.


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

rolyk said:


> ...I wouldn't have thought that an air rifle has sufficient power to penetrate a tyre so I'm not sure of the motive. Has anyone heard of anything similar?
> 
> Roly


We have a hole in out van bodywork about 2 foot behind and in line with the passenger window. It's almost certainly an air rifle pellet hole.
I don't know whether it would have shattered the cab window if it had hit it but if so the passenger was incredibly lucky.

It happened in NE France about 4 years ago although we did not know until we stopped for the night.


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## Pusser (May 9, 2005)

I was shot and killed just outside Reims 7 years ago but I managed to make a full recovery. 8) Airguns won't puncture tyres although gas pistols will. AK 49' will also puncture tyres and possibly engines too. Catapults will do more damage to windows than airguns but still unlikely to puncture tyres. But probably a Howitzer would do the most damage leaving only the wheels behind. 8) 

My biggest fear is seeing youngsters on motorway bridges particularly if they are standing over the lane you are in. If I can, I change lanes.


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## Superk (Aug 22, 2005)

In my book I relate such an incident being told to me:

‘We were driving in Spain when a car drew alongside, the back window went down and a gun appeared. They shot at our caravan tyre puncturing it so that we were forced to stop. Fortunately an English truck driver saw what happened and pulled in to protect us, otherwise we think we would have been robbed.’

The people were sufficiently distraught, and had driven non-stop out of Spain into France that I believed them.

Keith


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## RogerAndHeather (Dec 23, 2007)

I know of two incidents this past 6 months where Motorhomes had stopped after hearing a loud bang and had being flagged down by a passing car. In both cases, just north of Barcelona, they got out to investigate and a passenger from the car jumped into the cab and made off with wallets, passports, etc... They reckoned it was probably a ball bearing gun that was fired at them, the dents seem to prove that theory.

I had a printer so was busy downloading the necessary forms from the embassy website, where there is a published warning that this type of incident is happening around the Barcelona area. Best to keep moving to a safe area before investigating and just hope that it is not really a wheel falling off.


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## Pusser (May 9, 2005)

I am hoping having had Air Seal sloshed about in my tyres that it will come as a bit of a shock to robbers to fire at my wheels and sod all happens while I grin at them through the window.  "Yoo Hoo Mr. Robber. Guess what I had done a few weeks ago."   I am almost wishing this would happen just to prove the point but then again, I don't want to have to scrub the drivers seat afterwards. 8O


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## teensvan (May 9, 2005)

Hi

We had an incident two years ago in canterbury, but it was not a gun that fired a pellet at us, but some stupid impatient woman that overtook us on the the markings in the middle of the road where the grit collects just before two lanes merge into one.

Two stones fired out of one of her tyres and hit the van with a very loud bang just like a shotgun going off just in front of the door. When we stopped to inspect the damage there were two holes in the bodywork that split the aluminium skin. We had to do repairs before water got in.

steve & ann. ------------ teensvan.


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## Bubblehead (Mar 5, 2007)

Pusser

I agree with you about kids on bridges. A few years ago in a landrover we had a brick throwen from a bridged over the M5 near Brum. It went through the front windscreen and ended up in the back seat. It missed all 3 of us and we managed to pull over without crashing. The kids were long gone. We were forced to drive on to the nearest pub to calm our nerves.

Andy


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

I wonder if Eddie VB should add a new line to his motorhome security gadgets - how about a roof mounted (rotating) gun turret?


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