Oak Ridge Family Considers Civil Suit After Home Shot Into, No Charges

A Guilford County family says a bullet entered their Oak Ridge house, passed through the roof and attic, and lodged in a staircase wall while Matt Santamaria’s wife and three children were home, and no criminal charges have followed despite what the family says deputies told them. WFMY News 2 reporter Amber Lake relayed the family’s account and their disbelief that anyone faces prosecution.

Santamaria told WFMY he and his family heard gunfire coming from behind their home "three weeks ago" and later discovered the damage. "We hear a crack in, in the house. We weren't entirely sure what it was… at some point it becomes apparent that this is a bullet that has gone into my house," Santamaria said to WFMY as he described the moment the family realized the noise was a projectile inside their home.

WFMY's reporting states the family believes deputies "know who did it" but that no charges have been filed. The station also reported that a neighbor admitted to law enforcement that he had fired multiple weapons. WFMY said attempts to speak with the neighbor were unsuccessful because he was "out of town."

The family is now exploring civil options. WFMY quoted a legal expert identified only as "Keith": "Civil remedies is a little bit different. You don't have to prove intent. You can just prove negligence." The station also included a truncated comment from the same legal source about private-property and country-area considerations for hunting and firearm discharge, but did not provide the expert's full name or affiliation.

Santamaria framed the incident as a narrowly avoided tragedy and an ongoing disruption to daily life. "This could have killed someone," he told WFMY. He also described the family's sleep disruption and fear: "We've definitely lost a lot of sleep. We've had kids in our in our bedroom pretty much every night since it happened. um to know that that that something like that could could happen. Um it was certainly unsettling to myself, to my wife, and to my kids," Santamaria said in the WFMY transcript.

Public records and forensic details were not included in WFMY's account. The station's coverage does not cite ballistics results, the number of shots documented at the scene, the neighbor's identity, or any prosecutor explanation for why charges were not filed. The family name appears with inconsistent spelling in published transcripts as "Santamaria" and "Santa Maria."

The family’s exploration of a civil suit places the incident in a legal context where negligence, not intent, could form the basis for damages. WFMY's reporting preserved the family's account and the single detailed trajectory of a bullet through roof, attic, and staircase wall while emphasizing that no criminal case has been brought at this time.