RATHDRUM — The bullet hole is small but hard to miss, a black spot on the roof of a white truck, directly above the seat where an 8-year-old boy usually rides.

The boy’s mother, who did not wish to be identified, said her husband noticed the bullet hole just before he left for work on Monday morning.

The .38 caliber bullet didn’t fully penetrate the roof, the woman said, but appeared to have bounced or rolled off the top of the vehicle after impact. It was found next to the truck.

Gunfire isn’t an uncommon sound near the family’s home, which sits on several acres outside Rathdrum.

“It’s one of the things people out here enjoy,” the mom said. “We’re used to that.”

But each gunshot that echoes over the prairie now reminds her of what could have happened if someone had been in the wrong place when the bullet fell.

When fired into the air, bullets can return to the ground at speeds greater than 200 feet per second, according to a CDC study published in 2003.

That’s sufficient force to penetrate the human skull and cause serious injury or death.

“This can happen to anyone and anyone’s child,” the mom said.

The incident was reported to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office.

Det. Sgt. Joe Jovick said that shooting outside city limits is generally legal, so long as it’s not intended to disturb the peace.

“As long as it’s done in a safe manner, it’s not a violation,” he said.

Idaho code states that any person who handles or operates a firearm in a “careless, reckless or negligent manner” that injures another person is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail.

If no one is hurt by a careless gunshot, Jovick said, then no crime occurred.

He added that property damage caused by stray bullets is only criminal if done intentionally.

Though some areas have covenants that restrict shooting outside city limits, Jovick said the sheriff’s office does not generally enforce them.

The Rathdrum mom urged residents to practice gun safety, for their own sake and for the sake of their neighbors.

“When the bullet leaves the barrel, you own responsibility for the outcome,” she said. “It could be devastating if you don’t know where you’re shooting.”

Jovick echoed the sentiment. He recalled incidents where local gun owners shooting at home ranges inadvertently aimed over the top of their backstop.

“There are bullets that will travel miles,” he said. “(Gun owners) have to know what’s beyond their range, just in case.”

Guns should never be fired into the air, Jovick said. It’s simple physics.

“What goes up must come down,” he said.

The Rathdrum woman said the tranquility her family previously enjoyed is now disturbed by an awareness of the dangers of stray bullets.

“It’s eye-opening,” she said.

When her child plays outside, she worries in a way that she never did before.

“We felt safe in our community,” she said. “I don’t feel safe anymore.”