Suspect arrested after bullet strikes home in Merced apartment complex, police say

A Merced man accused of shooting a nearby residence when he discharged a firearm was arrested Monday, according to authorities.

Officers responded at about 10:30 p.m. to a report of a shooting at an apartment complex in the 300 block of Collins Drive, according to Merced police Lt. Emily Foster. After arriving on scene, officers located a single bullet strike in one of the apartment buildings.

Foster said officers contacted a nearby resident, identified as 37-year-old Jensen Lee, who reportedly answered the door holding an SKS rifle. Lee complied with officers’ orders to drop the firearm and he was taken into custody.

Police said Lee allegedly fired a single round from his back porch toward another apartment building. Officers located evidence at the scene and said the bullet entered the outside wall of a nearby apartment building before traveling through additional interior walls of a residence.

According to Foster, the apartment was occupied at the time of the shooting and no injuries were reported.

“This is an apartment complex where the units are close, so it’s very fortunate that no one was struck by the gunfire,” said Foster.

Officers served a search warrant at Lee’s residence where they located additional assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, police said. It is unknown why the firearm was discharged and if the man intentionally fired the rifle, according to Foster.

Lee was booked into Merced County Jail on suspicion of felony willful discharge of a firearm in a negligent manner, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, possession of assault weapon and misdemeanor possession of large-capacity magazine, according to jail records.

He remains in custody in lieu of $250,000 bond.