The city of North Adams will shut down the gun range off Pattison Road for public use effective Dec. 31st after being informed its insurance carrier will no longer cover the facility after this year.

IBerkshires.com reports that the announcement by Mayor Thomas Bernard caught both the City Council and shooting range supporter’s off-guard.

The mayor said the city's insurer, the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, would not cover the range after learning how it was being used.

The range has been in use for about 60 years. It began as a sportsmen's club but was taken over by the city sometime in the 1960s.

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