CARY, N.C. — An arrest is expected soon in the case of a person who killed a deer with a high-powered assault rifle in a neighborhood full of children.

A few blocks from downtown, a loud shot rang out. It was dinner time when Jack Martin, his wife and several neighbors ran outside to see what it was. Police believe someone shot the weapon at a church parking lot at a deer running through the woods.

"I just can't imagine someone going into a church parking lot with houses that are obviously around in the dark, going deer hunting," neighbor Jack Martin said.

Police said the gun that was used shoots bullets up to a mile. In this case, it would have only had to go 100 feet to hit children playing in the backyard.

"That's just totally unbelievable. There's a lot of kids in the neighborhood, both young, and teenagers alike," Martin said.

The hunter hit the deer, which died in the woods just 75 feet from the buses in the church parking lot.

"Without an exact or precise shot, that thing could've gone on and hurt somebody, gone through a wall of a home and hurt somebody," said Capt. Dave Wulff, of the Cary Police Department.

Police said the person ditched the gun in one of the church buses. The SBI is now processing it for fingerprints. An arrest is expected next week.

Police have not released the person's name. Once they do, the person will be charged with shooting a gun in city limits, a misdemeanor.