Following three similar incidents this semester, it was reported that someone shot pellets from a BB gun at pedestrians near campus earlier this week.

Since January 29, the University’s Department of Public Safety has reported four BB gun shootings from a moving vehicle, with the most recent incident having occurred on Sunday, April 10. DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown said three of the four cases involved victims being struck by pellets. While none of the victims sought medical attention, the shootings still pose harmful risks, Brown said.

“The danger of the situation is that obviously someone could be hit in the eye, and they could even lose an eye,” Brown said. “It could be the object that could be pointed, could be considered by some to be a real gun and could create hysteria and chaos.”

In addition, an incident of this type could be dangerous, as it could cause potential property damage and car accidents, or other consequences, Brown said.

“Someone could consider the weapon pointed to be real and shoot back at the perpetrator,” she said.

According to an April 12 DPS online report, the April 10 incident took place at Willard Street near East University Avenue. A female student told DPS she was walking with three friends when she noticed a small, four-door sedan that was dark in color. A passenger in the car fired what the victims thought were either a BB or Airsoft gun at them three times. None of the students were hit by the pellets, the report stated. The suspect is thought to be a 21- to 24-year-old white male with dirty blond hair down to his shoulders, medium in build and having a “scruffy face,” according to the report.

Each incident took place between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., according to the report. Two similar incidents occurred on January 29 within 10 minutes of each other — one at South State Street and South University Avenue, the other at South Forest Avenue near Willard Street. The victim of the first incident reported that a BB gun was being fired, while the latter victims described the objects as "small projectiles" — in both cases coming from silver minivans, according to the report. Brown said it is still unknown whether it was the same van involved in both incidents.

The next incident occurred on February 27 at South State Street near the Michigan Union as two people crossed the street to board an Ann Arbor Transit Authority bus, Brown said. The individuals reported within the hour that they were struck by BB gun pellets coming from a blue, four-door car driving by, but gave no further description of the vehicle, according to the report. It is still unknown whether this incident was related to the January incidents, Brown said.

As of March 16, DPS has been offering a $500 reward for information about the incidents. Despite the reward Brown said, there have not been any leads provided to the department on the matter.

Brown wrote in an e-mail interview that the drive-by incidents make it difficult to locate suspects since they occur so quickly. Additionally, she said explained that DPS faces challenges identifying perpetrators when victims wait an extended period of time before notifying authorities. The victim of the April 10 incident didn’t contact DPS until 19 hours after the incident occurred, according to the DPS report.

“This kind of incident is so unexpected … that people aren’t retaining lots of details that could be helpful to police,” Brown wrote. “Also, the victims in two of the incidents delayed telling the police, making it almost impossible to find a matching vehicle still in the neighborhood."

In addition to acting as an incentive for people to report information to DPS, the reward is intended to stress the danger of the weapons on campus, Brown wrote.

“Weapons, even those considered by some to be toys, simply do not have a positive contribution on a college campus and truly add to increased safety risks,” Brown wrote.