ST. MARTINVILLE — The first round of shots were fired Thursday afternoon at the brand new pistol and rifle shooting range in St. Martin Parish. 

The opening ceremony marked the culmination of a process that began late in the summer of 2013. That’s when the parish’s Sheriff’s Office began looking for property to begin building a range and training center. For over a decade, said Major Ginny Higgins, Public Information Officer for the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office, officers have had to travel to Iberia Parish to test and train with firearms. 

“This is a real dream,” she said. 

The office settled on the new site, at 1381 Francois Road in St. Martinville, in February of 2015, then broke ground on December 9 of that same year. Completion was delayed several times on account of heavy rain, but Thursday’s ceremony was held under a bright blue sky amid a pleasant breeze. 

“God has blessed us with some beautiful weather,” said St. Martin Sheriff Ronny Theriot, addressing a crowd of law enforcement officers, emergency responders and other public servants.

“This is probably the best facility anywhere in the Southwestern United States of America,” he said. “This is not just for law enforcement, it’s for all citizens of the parish to use at no charge.” 

The range has 10-foot concrete walls on each side and a 16-foot concrete wall in the rear, and can accommodate 16 shooters on the pistol range and four on the rifle range. It has a state-of-the-art target and bullet catching system that collects spent rounds for recycling by a third party.

“It is not only built for physical safety, but for environmental safety as well. No lead at all goes into the ground, none goes into the sky,” Theriot said. “God has blessed us with this facility — look how God has blessed us,” he said.

Father Rusty P. Richard was also there to offer blessings.

“You know, the Catholic Church teaches us that a person who defends his or her life is not guilty of murder even if the force is lethal,” he said. “It’s called ‘legitimate defense.’ Now, ‘legitimate defense’ can be not only a right, but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others…you the honorable men and women of law enforcement have a duty to protect and defend us,” he said. “So we take a moment to ask God…to send a shower of blessings upon this firing range and  all who will use it.” 

Richard then blessed the facility, using a leaf to fan holy water onto the grounds.   

The flag was raised to a bagpipe melody played by Deputy William Ritchey of the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office, and then was lowered to half-mast to honor Lieutenant Larry Fontenette, who passed unexpectedly from a heart attack on Sunday. 

Theriot then unveiled three signs adorning the outside wall of the new facility — an abridged version of the Second Amendment written over the image of a scroll, a St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office badge, and an image of stone tablets which read “in GOD we trust” — as Jon Melancon sang Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.”  

The range will be open to the general public early in 2018.