Azusa moves to close gun range
The Azusa City Council unanimously approved a zoning change last week that will effectively close Southern California’s largest shooting range.
The San Gabriel Valley Gun Club opened in 1946 and attracts 70,000 shooters annually. Hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement officers train at the range. “It’s a significant resource that we’re going to be losing,” says Arcadia’s acting police chief Randy Kirby.
City officials, citing concerns about potential fire, safety and environmental threats, gave the gun club 18 months before closing. But gun club spokesman Xavier Hermosillo says no accidents or infractions have occurred at the range since it opened. He says the club plans to sue to overturn the decision.
The closure would leave 37 shooting ranges in Southern California, down from more than 200 two decades ago.
Scott Doggett
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