Section 12E. (a) Whoever discharges a firearm as defined in section 121 of chapter 140 within 500 feet of a dwelling or other building in use, except with the consent of the owner or legal occupant thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $100 or by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 3 months, or both such fine and imprisonment.
(b) This section shall not apply to any of the following: (i) the lawful defense of life and property; (ii) any law enforcement officer acting in the discharge of their duties; or (iii) the discharge of blank cartridges for theatrical, athletic, ceremonial, firing squad or other purposes in accordance with section 39 of chapter 148.
(c) This section shall not apply to a dwelling or building on the same property as: (i) persons using underground or indoor target or test ranges with the consent of the owner or legal occupant thereof; (ii) persons using outdoor skeet, trap, target or test ranges with the consent of the owner or legal occupant of the land on which the range is established; or (iii) persons using shooting galleries, licensed and defined under the provisions of section 56A of chapter 140. Nothing in this section shall exempt any person from compliance with noise control laws, regulations, ordinances or by-laws in effect or from the prohibitions of section 58 of chapter 131.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
43
cases (
17 in the last 5 years), 1983–2026 · leading case:
Commonwealth v. Evans, 786 N.E.2d 375 (Mass. 2003).
Commonwealth v. Evans, 786 N.E.2d 375 (Mass. 2003).
· cites it 4× “John was also convicted of assault by means of a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building (G. L. c. 269, § 12E), and a number of motor vehicle and weapons violations.”
Alicea v. Commonwealth, 993 N.E.2d 725 (Mass. 2013).
· cites it 2× “4 In 2003, a grand jury returned indictments charging Alicea with three firearm of *230 fenses: discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, G. L. c. 269, § 12E; unlicensed possession of a firearm outside his residence or place of business, G.”
Commonwealth v. Moore, 765 N.E.2d 268 (Mass. App. Ct. 2002).
· cites it 2× “In addition to the charges on which this appeal is based, the complaint charged Moore with one count of discharging a firearm within five hundred feet of a building, G. L. c. 269, § 12E, for which the court allowed a motion for a required finding of not guilty; and one count of…”
Commonwealth v. Mendes, 914 N.E.2d 348 (Mass. App. Ct. 2009).
· cites it 2× “4 With respect to the meaning of the phrase “in use” in G. L. c. 269, § 12E, we construe the words to mean “in use” at any time of the day and not at the precise moment of the discharge of the shots here between 1 and 2 a.”
Commonwealth v. Barbosa, 972 N.E.2d 987 (Mass. 2012).
“269, § 10 (by, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building in violation of G. L. c. 269, § 12E. A jury found the defendant guilty on all charges, including murder in the first degree on theories of both premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty.”
Commonwealth v. Hanright, 994 N.E.2d 363 (Mass. 2013).
“265, § 15B; and (5) discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a building, G. L. c. 269, § 12E. In addition, the defendant moved to dismiss so much of the indictment alleging the murder of Maguire as included any theory of murder other than felony-murder.”
Commonwealth v. Carlson, 455 N.E.2d 647 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983).
· cites it 3× “He was acquitted on a third complaint charging him with unlawfully discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, G. L. c. 269, § 12E. Carlson was sentenced *53 to the minimum mandatory one-year term of imprisonment on the carrying charge and to a concurrent one-year term…”
Dorce v. Garland, 50 F.4th 207 (1st Cir. 2022).
“§ 28(a); and (7) discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 12E. He was acquitted of counts two, four, five, and six, and counts three and seven were dismissed.”
Commonwealth v. Lincoln Ford., 100 Mass. App. Ct. 712 (Mass. App. Ct. 2022).
“See G. L. c. 269, § 12E. Most significantly, the reports of the second, third, and fourth ShotSpotter alerts indicated a specific linear trajectory that began at the intersection of Shurtleff and Bellingham Streets and continued along Bellingham Street.”
City of Cambridge v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 682 N.E.2d 923 (Mass. App. Ct. 1997).
“What the city’s background check uncovered was that Langston, in 1984, at age 20, had admitted to firing a sawed-off shotgun within 500 feet of a residence, in violation of G. L. c. 269, § 12E. A judge of the Roxbury District Court found her guilty, imposed a $50 fine, and…”
Commonwealth v. Alvarez, 596 N.E.2d 325 (Mass. 1992).
“See G. L. c. 269, § 12E (1990 ed.) (discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling; no requirement of knowledge of the distance); G.”
Commonwealth v. Edwards, 886 N.E.2d 722 (Mass. App. Ct. 2008).
· cites it 2× “Though a violation of G. L. c. 269, § 12E, for discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling is a misdemeanor, it is a crime involving a threat to public safety.”
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 12E(d) — 1 case
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