Mystery projectiles strike Cape Coral home, car

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

A Cape Coral mother says someone has repeatedly fired metal projectiles toward her home, first shattering a car window and now leaving dents in her garage.

Jenna Prisciandaro, who lives on Southeast 18th Terrace, says the strange incidents started a couple of months ago when she woke up to find a hole punched through the passenger window of her car and shattered glass scattered around it.

When she looked closer, she says she spotted a small metal ball on the ground. At first, she assumed it was a one-time accident. “We found one of these little pellet balls,” Prisciandaro said. “I kind of just attributed it to some kid in the neighborhood making a stupid mistake. I’ll get it fixed. Not a big deal because it was only once.”

But weeks later, Prisciandaro says more of the metal balls started appearing on her property. She says she has now found three of them, including one in her driveway and another near her front door, along with dents in her garage door that appear to match their size.

“That’s been the bigger concern, that it’s increasing in frequency,” she said.

Gulf Coast News showed the metal balls to a Fort Myers gun expert, who said they appear to be steel ball bearings, sometimes used for hunting, typically fired from a slingshot, often called a wrist rocket.

To see whether the problem extended beyond one home, we knocked on doors around the neighborhood. About a dozen neighbors told us they have not experienced any similar damage.

Prisciandaro says what makes the situation even weirder is that her home security cameras never captured anyone firing the projectiles. She also wonders whether someone could be aiming toward burrowing owl nests across the street and unintentionally hitting her property.

For now, she says the biggest concern is her family’s safety. “My six-year-old likes to play in the front yard as much as he can,” she said. “This makes me double-think that decision, not knowing where these are coming from.”

Prisciandaro called police, and an officer came out and documented the incident. Tuesday, Cape Coral Police told Gulf Coast News they plan to follow up with her. Officers want to remind you can press charges anytime you experience property damage.

Gulf Coast News also reached out to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to ask whether they plan to check on the owl nests across the street from Prisciandaro's home or investigate the situation.

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