MENIFEE ----- Council members have tightened Menifee's gun restrictions, saying the new ordinance protects areas that need it but still allows firearms to be discharged in the city.

In a 4-0 vote Tuesday, with Mayor Wallace Edgerton absent, the council agreed to prohibit shooting a firearm or BB gun within 150 yards of a school, church or park, and within 300 yards of roads or livestock.

The change was prompted by a scare last fall at the onset of hunting season when gunshots were heard near a rural Menifee campus, officials said.

The ordinance also prohibits the discharge of rifles, pellet guns and other weapons that fire rifle slugs. Exceptions include hunting with a valid license, protecting yourself or your property, shooting on a range, and shooting on private property "within certain distances," city documents state.