Residents of a quiet Escondido suburb have been complaining to the county and elected leaders since 2016 of constant gunshots coming from a nearby property near San Pasqual Valley.
The shots usually start early in the morning – residents say they hear thousands of rounds discharged from high-powered weapons a few times a week, sometimes for hours on end. But after more than six years, the constant firing near their homes and families has become an unsettling reality.
“I can’t even sit in my own back patio,” resident John Carroll said. “It’s unbearable, and it has completely changed the atmosphere of the neighborhood.”
The 22-acre property, just north of Escondido, was purchased in November 2016 by members of the Freedom Fighters Foundation, nonprofit organization created by former U.S. Border Patrol Agent Alex Djokich and his wife.
The nonprofit’s mission is “to advance and protect the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution as originally intended by the Founding Fathers,” its website states.
Two years after the Freedom Fighters Foundation purchased the property, its CEO at the time, Chad Clay Kipper, pleaded guilty to felony gun trafficking charges, and the organization fired him after learning of the charges.
On paper, the property is a soon-to-be plant nursery, and its operators say only friends and family of the property owners shoot there.
But videos and photos on social media, accounts from neighbors and the secretive nature of the organization that manages the land indicate something more organized is going on.
The property itself doesn’t fit the county requirements to be a legal shooting range in San Diego County primarily because of its zoning. Friends and family of the owners, though, are allowed to shoot on the property. Recurring and commercial shooting events with large groups of people are illegal. This also means they can’t charge people to shoot there.
The Freedom Fighters’ attorney Robert Wright told Voice of San Diego that the owners only invite friends and family to shoot at the property and that they don’t charge fees for use.
However, residents say the Freedom Fighters’ website paints a picture of organized commercial events, ones where members of the public are invited in large groups to participate in a shooting range experience. The website’s homepage also offers visitors a chance to win a five-day “tactical training adventure” on the property.
Social media posts from a few years ago, photos on the website, as well as a clip of the Freedom Fighters’ promotional video in this NBC 7 report from 2018, show people firing AR-15 rifles, shotguns and pistols at dozens of targets on the Freedom Fighters property near Escondido.
Residents say they’ve regularly seen dozens of vehicles meet up at a spot near the neighborhood. Once a group gathers, the cars proceed through the dirt roads to the secluded property. A little while later, the shooting starts.
“Just because you are a nonprofit and claim to not charge people, why does that give you the right to run a high-powered tactical shooting range right next to a neighborhood?” resident Ron James said.
Wright also told NBC 7 in 2018 that people who work for federal and state law enforcement agencies have used the target shooting area if invited to do so.
Residents have asked for a full investigation from county officials, but that has so far been restricted to a review from the county’s planning department, which handles code compliance and land use conformance.
The Freedom Fighters have received warnings from county planners every year since 2018 to correct the unpermitted structures, illegal clearing and hazardous materials that are still on the property.
In one of the first warning letters from April 2018, the county told the Freedom Fighters to restore the property to its “previous condition prior to the grading/clearing,” meaning reversing all the 3.2 acres of land they cleared that allowed them to set up targets and equipment for a shooting range.
A year later, the Freedom Fighters started obtaining an Agricultural Clearing Permit, to turn the property into a native plant nursery.
Three years later, there’s still no plant nursery and the Freedom Fighters have not reversed the clearing or corrected any of the other code violations that county staff have warned them about since 2018.
All the warning letters threaten “enhanced enforcement” and potential penalties if the Freedom Fighters don’t comply, but it’s been four years since those warnings started, and there hasn’t been any enforcement or penalty.
In the meantime, residents are concerned the shooting could spark a fire. The area is already a wildfire risk because of its especially hot and dry climate, and neighbors claim to have heard shooting even on high fire hazard days and Red Flag Warnings.
In 2017, the San Diego Sheriff’s Department responded to complaints that people on the property were shooting during the Lilac fire, which was burning several miles from the range, NBC 7 reported.
Border Patrol Supervisor Larry Bordon was at the range that day, and told sheriff’s deputies that because they are federal agents, the Red Flag warning was not applicable to them. Djokich was also at the range and identified himself as a Border Patrol agent.
The group ultimately told deputies they would stop shooting for the day.
The U.S. Border Patrol confirmed in a 2018 letter that it does not operate a shooting range or conduct any official training at the property.
Stray bullets from the range, meanwhile, have struck the Serbian Orthodox monastery that neighbors the property. The exterior of its building is now home to several bullet holes.
Donna Durckel, a county spokesperson, said the county conducted a noise study on the property over four days in August 2021.
“We confirmed that firearms were used during this time,” Durckel said. “On August 4, 2021, analysis of the study was completed, and no violation of the Noise Ordinance was found.”
Carroll, who accompanied the county representative during the study, said he asked for multiple studies over different weekends, as that specific weekend in August didn’t happen to have a lot of shooting.
Members of the County Board of Supervisors, including Jim Desmond’s office, which represents this district, referred Voice of San Diego to the County’s Planning and Development Services department.
A Desmond staffer said over email that the office is “working with county staff to ensure that all laws and regulations are being complied with.”
The communications manager for Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, who represented the district when the complaints started, said in an email that Lawson-Remer is “aware of the complaints and is supportive of actions to protect the neighbors.”
A communications representative for Escondido said it has no jurisdiction over the issue because though the surrounding neighborhood is in Escondido, the property itself is in the unincorporated county.
The county Sheriff’s Department confirmed that the property has not and is not being investigated in relation to these allegations.
Members of the Freedom Fighters Foundation denied requests for comment and referred me to their attorney.
In a letter from the Freedom Fighters to county staff in August, the organization emphasized its right to conduct shooting there according to county law. It maintained that if shooting is allowed, then so should the materials needed to shoot (i.e, targets and other structures).
They also said the complaints of neighbors are “meritless.”
It’s vaguely reminiscent of when a bunch of departments and the Marines* were training on private property in Valley Center. Now with more vigilantism!
*Why the 100k+ acres of Camp Pendleton were insufficient for Marine training purposes was never explained.
I’ve been following this situation since 2016 and feel so terrible for these neighbors. How terribly disruptive to their lives. Shame on these so-called freedom fighters who clearly only care about themselves. Something needs to be done.
I live right by this place and I never knew this was an issue. These complaints are much ado about nothing. How dare these land owners use their land within their legal rights. Sheesh.
And of course Desmond is involved.
Why don’t everybody just leave everybody else alone because your complaining is realky bothering me. The fact that you are wasting the time and resources of the county is despicable. If you don’t like it them move. Stop infringing on your fellow American’s freedom. Maybe try joining the club and get into protecting our rights and freedoms instead of wasting time and resources that put more and more restrictions on Americans in The Land of the Free and The Home of the Brave. Go complain about Pelosi or Newsome would be a much better use of your time and energy.
Yes sir – well said
What a joke- if it were anyone besides these flag-waving yahoos, you’d be calling for their arrest. I can hardly imagine any other group getting away with what they have, at least without other retired feds/cops on their side. Besides, the fact that their neighbors have bullet holes in their walls means that they’ve crossed the line from inconsiderate to dangerously irresponsible. People ought to be able to fire on their own property, as long as they respect their neighbors (which would be a lot easier if suppressors weren’t so heavily restricted, as someone else mentioned).
If you looked into this more you will find that the members of the church also shoot there on their own church land… there are targets around the church owned by the church (as well as Archery target and other fun activities.) It also appears that the owners of the FF range acquired part of their land from that same church after some zoning issues were raised and FF needed to acquire more land. All in public record, if you dig you will find all of this in well, real investigative reporting and research. Since the church is located on the land that it’s members shoot on, it’s actually more likely that these (unconfirmed with no proof or pictures etc.) — “bullet holes” would have come from their own congregation. If these ‘journalists’ even tried a teeny bit to remain objective and get the true story here it’s not that difficult. Really. Go ahead though, believe all the writing from what you read at just face value without digging further… oh and then spreading the Fudd after that. Awesome. The ONLY thing I agree with you though is the right to own items to protect everyone’s hearing like in Britain and other countries where if you have a firearm you are REQUIRED to own a suppressor and use it. Such brilliant bureaucracy. 😉
So they bought land, cleared some of it (which apparently your not allowed to clear land on you own property?) Then shooting a gun on your own property is a problem? What happened to living free and the American dream? All them Karen’s out there make it hard to live there – that’s why I left. Only in Commiefornia is freedom restricted
“Freedom fighters” another name for grown men who are actually pussies and like to play soldier in their back yard. Stop disrupting the lives of other people with your stupid antics.
So I take it that you have been there and met some of them or are you just being childish and calling people names that you know nothing about and have never met.Grow up boy,and quit being such child.I know for a fact that you have not.Your commenting on something you know nothing about.
Some are soldiers. Some are LEOs. Some are soldiers and LEOs and civilians. Some are civilians. If you want to call them names that’s your right. Most of the people I know in these categories would defend your 1st amendment right so continue to spout completely uninformed nonsense.
Just as the FFF cherishes our rights and responsibilities, it should understand that neighbors have a right to be at peace and have serenity while in their own homes.
So if not in a valley in the middle of nowhere miles in away from homes in a state that is nearly impossible to enjoy a constitutional freedom, where would you suggest these land owners go and RE-BUY land, pay to build it all up again just to enjoy their right, again? (where they won’t be kicked out by the next group of Karens.) Perhaps you as a responsible citizen could help us all out with that info and maybe donate some money to help with that cause you are suggesting. — and since this place has been investigated at length numerous times and found to be not breaking ANY laws exactly what right to peace (written law or ordinance) are you referring to exactly so you can get that enforced?
If firearms suppressors were legal in California, as they are in 42 other states, the residents would hear nothing. Rifle and pistol suppressors are very effective. I have had experience with them in five other states. If a person is willing to put an extra $1,000 into their firearm, and pay the state tax for a suppressor, I don’t think they’re going to be robbing banks or 7-Elevens.
i agree. best way to solve the issue.
Enjoy your guns boys!