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CBS 6 Investigates: 911 firework and gunfire calls on night of Brendon’s death

Posted at 8:10 PM, Jul 18, 2013
and last updated 2013-07-19 06:46:40-04

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WTVR)--There are still no answers in the fatal shooting of a Chesterfield boy.

CBS 6 is taking another look at the search area where Brendon Mackey was hit by a stray bullet on July Fourth; he later died at the hospital.

Police said he was likely struck by a stray bullet from possible celebratory gunfire.

The Fourth of July was a pretty busy day for Chesterfield police dispatchers. They took in more than 70 calls from people who thought they heard gunshots or fireworks.

Perhaps the most tragic call came when 7-year-old  Brendon Mackey was shot by a stray bullet right here near Sunday Park—crowded with holiday revelers-- in Brandermill.

Questions still remain; where did the bullet come from and who shot the gun?

Such questions haunt his family and fuel a difficult police investigation. Captain Chris Hensley told CBS 6 news that the public has to play a key role in this investigation.

Millridge Parkway Map (PHOTO; Chesterfield Police)

Millridge Parkway Map (PHOTO; Chesterfield Police)

Investigators have checked out dozens of tips and canvassed the Brandermilll neighborhood near Sunday Park. They have even outlined their search area on a police map.

Police believe the 40-caliber bullet could have come as far away as 7,100 feet, or over a mile away. However, police believe the bullet likely came from within a one-mile radius.

CBS 6 obtained a copy of the 71 police calls for fireworks or gunfire from that day.

We mapped 12 calls within a 25 minute window of Mackey’s shooting. We drove to three of them and found that they were within this one-mile radius.

shotmapAt 8:48 p.m. a call for fireworks came into Chesterfield dispatch at Otterdale Road and Hampton Park Drive. Another call came in at 8:55 in the 5700 block of Woodlake Village Drive. Another call for fireworks came in at 9:11 p.m. at Fiddlers Ridge Place.

While those calls turned up few leads for police, they continue to focus their efforts within these boundaries, hoping someone will come forward with the nugget of info they need to solve this tragic mystery.

If you have information that can help police, call Crime Solvers at 748-0660.

CBS 6 will air a presentation highlighting elements of the case, starting at 11:15 p.m., Thursday.