If someone shot your car, call 911 from a safe location, then file a police report and notify your auto insurer. Bullet damage is treated as vandalism, which falls under comprehensive coverage rather than collision, so if you carry comprehensive insurance your policy should pay for repairs minus your deductible. If the shooter is later identified, you can also pursue repayment through criminal restitution or a civil lawsuit. What you do in the first few hours shapes every option that follows.
Get to Safety First
Before anything else, move away from the vehicle. Fresh bullet holes can mean an active threat nearby, and you have no way to know whether the shooter is still in the area. Get behind hard walls, stay low, and call 911. Tell the dispatcher that your car was shot and whether you heard gunfire or are only discovering the damage later.
Do not sit in or lean against the car while you wait. Damage from bullets is not always visible from the outside, and fuel lines, brake lines, and wiring may be compromised. If the car is at your home, stay inside until officers arrive. If you found the damage in a parking lot or on the street, move to the nearest safe building.
File a Police Report
The police report is the foundation for everything that comes next. Your insurer will ask for the report number before processing a claim, and you will need it for restitution or any civil case down the road.
When officers arrive, tell them when you last saw the car undamaged, when you discovered the damage, anything you heard or saw, and whether any neighbors or nearby businesses might have cameras. Officers will examine the scene, collect bullet fragments or casings, and look at trajectories. Ask for the report number and the name of the assigned detective, if one is assigned. Most departments make reports available within a few days, either online or at the records office for a small fee. Get a copy as soon as it is ready.
Police may want to hold your vehicle as evidence, especially if the shooting ties into a broader investigation. If that happens, ask the detective for an estimated timeline and whether you can petition for its release.
Document the Damage Yourself
Once police clear the scene, take your own photographs before anything is repaired or towed. Shoot wide, medium, and close-up views of every bullet hole, shattered window, and interior impact point. Place a coin or pen next to entry and exit holes to show scale. Photograph the surroundings too, including nearby buildings, other cars, and any impacts on walls or pavement that show the direction of fire.
Write down what you remember while it is fresh: the date and time, the weather, lighting, any unusual sounds in the hours before you found the damage, and the names of anyone who was with you. A contemporaneous account carries more weight than a later recollection with an adjuster or in court.
How Insurance Handles Bullet Damage
Call your insurer as soon as you have the police report number and your photos in hand. Most policies require prompt notification, and delay can complicate the claim.
Gunshot damage is treated as vandalism, and vandalism falls under comprehensive coverage. Comprehensive pays for damage from events outside your control, including theft, fire, weather, and intentional acts by other people.1Progressive. Does Car Insurance Cover Vandalism? Your insurer will likely send an adjuster to inspect the damage before authorizing repairs. Give the adjuster your photos, the police report, and any repair estimates you have gathered.
You will owe your deductible out of pocket. If repair costs fall below the deductible, filing a claim may not be worth it. For heavier damage, comprehensive claims are generally worth filing and typically do not raise your rates the way an at-fault collision claim would.
If You Only Carry Liability Coverage
Liability insurance only pays for damage you cause to other people or their property. It does not cover damage to your own car from vandalism or any other cause.2GEICO. Does Car Insurance Cover Vandalism Without comprehensive coverage, your insurer will not pay for bullet damage, and your only paths to recovery run through the shooter: criminal restitution or a civil lawsuit, both of which require the shooter to be identified. If the shooter is never caught and you had no comprehensive coverage, you bear the full cost of repairs.
Rental Car Reimbursement
Check whether your policy includes rental car reimbursement. This is usually an optional add-on with a daily dollar cap and a maximum number of days. Typical limits run between $40 and $70 per day for up to 30 or 45 days.3Progressive. Rental Car Reimbursement Coverage It generally does not cover fuel, security deposits, or extra rental-company insurance. Without this coverage, you will need to pay for alternative transportation yourself while the car is in the shop or impounded.
Restitution if the Shooter Is Convicted
If police identify and prosecutors convict the person who shot your car, the court can order them to pay you back as part of their sentence. Restitution covers the actual financial losses the crime caused: repair bills, rental costs, towing fees, and similar out-of-pocket expenses.
Most states have restitution statutes, and requirements vary. Under federal law, restitution is mandatory when a defendant is convicted of a crime of violence or a property offense that caused a victim a financial loss.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3663A – Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes The court must order the full amount of the victim’s losses regardless of the defendant’s finances, though the payment schedule itself takes income and assets into account, which means payments may stretch over months or years.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3664 – Procedure for Issuance and Enforcement of Order of Restitution
To support a restitution order, you will need to document your losses. In the federal process, the probation officer gives you the chance to submit an affidavit with repair invoices, rental receipts, and any other expenses tied to the shooting.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3664 – Procedure for Issuance and Enforcement of Order of Restitution Keep every receipt from day one.
A realistic note: restitution looks good on paper, but collection is another matter. Many defendants simply do not have the money. Courts can garnish wages and seize assets, but if there is nothing to take, you may see little or nothing for years. Pursue restitution, but do not treat it as your only plan.
Civil Lawsuit and Diminished Value
A civil lawsuit is separate from a criminal case, and you do not need to wait for prosecution to finish before filing. Civil court uses a lower standard of proof: rather than guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, you only need to show that the person who shot your car more likely than not caused your damage.
You still need someone to sue. If the shooter is identified, you can claim repair costs, diminished vehicle value, rental expenses, and other financial losses. If the shooting happened on commercial property with arguably inadequate security, you may also have a negligence claim against the property owner. That theory is harder to win, but it can put a solvent defendant in the picture when the shooter has no assets.
An attorney who handles property damage or personal injury cases can tell you whether a civil claim is worth the time and cost. Many offer free initial consultations. Smaller claims may fit in small claims court, which does not require a lawyer, though dollar limits vary by jurisdiction.
Even after full repairs, your car may be worth less than before the shooting because a history of bullet damage drags down resale value. That gap is called diminished value, and you can claim it. Insurers routinely resist diminished value claims, so building a credible one usually requires an independent appraisal from a certified vehicle appraiser documenting pre-incident value, post-repair value, and the difference. Diminished value claims are most often pursued against the person who caused the damage, either through their liability insurance or in a civil suit. Some states allow you to pursue diminished value against your own insurer under certain conditions; many do not.
What Will Not Help
Two sources of relief that sound like they should apply usually do not.
Every state runs a crime victim compensation program, but these programs almost universally exclude property damage. They are built to cover medical bills, lost wages, counseling, and funeral expenses for victims of violent crime. If the shooting only damaged your car and you were not physically injured, the program will not pay for repairs. If you were hurt in the incident, these programs may cover medical costs and lost income that your health insurance does not.
The tax code is similarly closed off. Since 2018, personal casualty and theft losses have been deductible only when they result from a federally declared disaster, and starting in 2026 that opens up to include state-declared disasters as well.6Internal Revenue Service. Casualty Loss Deduction Expanded and Made Permanent A random shooting is not a declared disaster, so the loss is generally not deductible.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 165 – Losses
Keep Everything in One File
The single most useful habit through all of this is maintaining one file, physical or digital, with every document tied to the incident:
- The police report and any supplemental reports as the investigation develops
- Your own photos and video, plus any surveillance footage you obtain
- Every email, letter, and claim number from your insurer
- Repair estimates, invoices, and proof of payment
- Receipts for rental cars or any other alternative transportation
- Pay stubs or an employer letter if you missed work because your car was unavailable or held as evidence
Your insurer needs this file to process the claim. The prosecutor needs it to calculate restitution. Your attorney needs it if you file a civil suit. Building it from day one spares you from reconstructing months of expenses later, when receipts have been lost and memories have faded.