LIMA — You could call it a fluke, but then you would be guilty of making the understatement of the
century.
Allen County Sheriff Matt Treglia got hit by a bullet five minutes into 2020 when a round fell from the
sky, bounced off a Lima Police Department vehicle, and ricocheted into the cab of the sheriff’s cruiser.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Treglia and Major Todd Mohler were parked downtown just across from Veterans Memorial Civic Center to
record the pops caused by a large number of gunshots celebrating 2020 when one of the rounds presumed
fired into the air ricocheted into the cruiser through an open window.
“The stray bullet passed through the open driver’s window, inches in front of Major Mohler’s face, then
struck Sheriff Treglia’s chest,” according to a report filed Thursday by the Allen County Sheriff’s
Office.
In a video posted on Facebook, the sound of the bullet hitting the cruiser and the lawmen’s reactions can
be clearly heard.
“What the ‘bleep’ was that?”
“That was a ‘bleep’-ing round, or something.”
“It just hit me, dude.”
“Are you okay?”
Photos submitted by the Allen County Sheriff’s Office show the dent caused by the round and where it
ended up resting underneath one of seats of the cruiser.
“What goes up, must come back down. Shooting any type of gun into the air is extremely dangerous and
illegal. Please handle any and all firearms safely and responsibly,” according to the report.
Outside of the sheriff’s office incident, no injuries or deaths were reported due to falling bullets in
Allen County.
