Delray police search for pellet gun shooter harassing boaters

After a day of fishing off the coast of Boynton Beach in late September, Charles Chapman steered his boat along the Intracoastal toward his home in Lighthouse Point.

Shortly after passing underneath Atlantic Ave nue in Delray Beach, he heard a pop. He looked around, confused. Then he heard another pop.

“I didn’t realize what it was until I found the pellet on the boat,” Chapman said.

Delray Beach police say someone is shooting a pellet gun at boaters as they pass the City Marina, located at 159 Marina Way just south of Atlantic Avenue. Chapman is one of four people who have filed reports of the shootings since September, and police are trying to catch whoever is behind the attacks.

“The pressure behind the pellet gun — and there are high-pressured pellet guns out there — if they hit a person, or more concerning a child, it can cause significant damage,” said Delray Beach police Detective Stephanie Kearney. “People may assume that a pellet gun isn’t going to do much damage, but when you put pressure behind it, at that point it becomes concerning.”

According to police, the reported shootings started in September. One more occurred in October, then two in November.

In two of the incidents, boats were damaged, records show. In one, a man was hit in the arm with a pellet, and in another, a woman narrowly missed being hit in the head by a pellet. Two of the incidents involved boats with children onboard, which greatly concerned the captain on each.

All of the shootings occurred in the same general location near the marina, but police have not been able to identify a suspect. Since the shootings began, officers have been canvassing the boats at the marina — some of which are houseboats —

and trying to gather more information about who might be responsible.

Right now, Kearney said, police are unsure about who is behind the incidents.

“There are people we want to speak with, but they’re not suspects,” she said.

Joe Mallin was aboard a friend’s boat when they came under fire on Nov. 28. He said his friend and daughter heard the same popping sound Chapman heard. His friend yelped, Mallin said, and they heard the pellet hit the deck.

His friend had been hit by a pellet in the arm, and another was found rolling on the boat deck. They figured it was some kids playing around, until they heard about the other incidents and began to suspect a disgruntled boat owner on the Intracoastal might be behind the shootings.

His friend wasn’t seriously hurt. Mallin said it was his first time out on the water in many years, and the shooting was a big surprise.

“It probably would’ve hit me, but he took the bullet for me,” Mallin said of his friend.

The victims of the shootings told police they think it might be someone living in a houseboat who is angry about boaters driving near that marina and causing a wake, according to the incident reports.

Police support that theory. Kearney said recently that stretch of waterway went from a no-wake zone to a slow zone.

A big enough wake can cause boats docked nearby in the Intracoastal to bang against the docks, potentially damaging boats.

Kearney said police are looking to charge the person responsible with a felony, and are encouraging anyone with information to contact the Delray Beach Police Department.

“Honestly, [the shooter] doesn’t understand that what they’re doing can cause potential danger to somebody,” she said. “It’s not a joke.”