Investigations

Shots Fired at U.S. Space Center in Alabama

May 4, 2012

Two bullets, likely from a rifle fired on the interstate, hit a Saturn V Rocket at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center which was closed for about two hours during the investigation.

May 04--MADISON -- The U.S. Space & Rocket Center closed for about two hours Thursday after someone fired shots into the Davidson Center, officials said.

Huntsville police believe someone fired the shots from a vehicle along I-565.

"We know they definitely came from outside our building," said Tim Hall, U.S. Space & Rocket Center spokesman. "Two of the bullets struck the third stage of the Saturn V Rocket; however, the rocket was not punctured."

The Saturn V is suspended horizontally 10 feet above the floor inside the 476-foot-long Davidson Center, which is next to the main space museum and faces I-565.

Huntsville Police Department spokesman Harry Hobbs said police received a call about the shots at 10:12 a.m.

No one was injured, and no one has been arrested, Hobbs said. He said preliminary information indicates three rounds were fired, hitting 30 to 100 feet apart, leading police to believe they were fired from a moving vehicle on the interstate. One bullet was recovered, but no casings.

"The rounds were likely fired from a rifle, judging from the velocity needed to penetrate the glass," he said.

Hall said about 200 people, including students from schools in Arkansas, Georgia and Birmingham, were in the center at the time. No local students were believed to be in the center, he said.

He said an employee heard a popping sound and called security, which notified Huntsville police.

"When we realized shots had been fired, we asked everyone to exit the building for safety reasons," Hall said. "Everyone was very calm and very orderly."

Hall said bullet holes were seen in three windows.

He said Space Center Chief Executive Officer Deborah Barnhart is reaching out to the Smithsonian to discuss the damage to the Saturn V, a

national historic landmark.

The Davidson Center was constructed so the Saturn V could be moved from an outdoor exhibit and protected from weather-related deterioration.

The rocket is the prototype for the series of rockets that transported 24 men to the moon from 1968 through 1972.