Sheriff: 4-year-old shot in head while fishing

[XanaDUer]

OSSIAN, Ind. — A 4-year-old boy who was fatally shot while fishing with his father in northeastern Indiana was struck in the head by an errant bullet, a sheriff and a family friend said

Fisher said an autopsy was performed Saturday.

Forty-six-year-old neighbor Bruce Pond was being held without bond on a preliminary charge of reckless homicide and due to appear in court Monday. Fisher told the Bluffton News-Banner alcohol was involved and Pond apparently shot at a light on the pier where the father and son were fishing.

"I think it was just a freak accident," Ulmer said.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/sheriff-4-year-old-1041295.html

[safeinOhio]

1. Murphy's law

applies double for guns. what ever can go wrong, will.

[fascisthunter]

19. true

[Vinca]

2. Can't have enough guns and booze in this country.

[Maine-ah]

3. can't have enough idots drunk in this country.

most legal gun owners are responsible.

[Tesha]

4. So are most Nuclear Plant Operators most of the time.

But with nukes as with guns, when accidents *DO* occur, the
results are often tragic.

Tesha

[Maine-ah]

17. oh, I agree, Tesha

accidents do happen, even when people are being responsible. This idiot, however, was certainly far from responsible.

[Union Scribe]

32. This was not an accident.

Most gun casualties are not the result of accidents. This asshole should go to jail for the rest of his drunk, miserable life.

[drpepper67]

62. I agree.

Not knowing exactly what you're shooting at is beyond stupid.

[RC]

22. Then why is the firearm murder rate so high in this country?

Maybe if daddy or the 4 year old had guns they could have defended themselves and shot first?

[Kaleva]

30. 70% of homicides in Detroit are drug related.

[RC]

34. Your point?

Ossian is a small town in Indiana of about 3500 people.

[Kaleva]

37. You asked why the murder rate was so high in this country.

The murder rate in most of Michigan is very low. Comparable to many European countries. However, when one factors in Detroit and Flint, the state average is high. And the reason why the homicide rate is so high in Detroit is drugs.

I suspect the same is true for most of the rest of the states.

[madinmaryland]

26. Sadly, the key word in your post is "most" and what does that mean?

Dead people.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tallsherri]

49. Ohio

I can't believe they are passing guns in bars. Are you
kidding? This law will also allow guns in stadiums. One good
thing: The owner of the Cincinnati Bengals is opting not to
allow it.

[gejohnston]

50. it will still be a felony to drink

it is about eating in establishments like Applebees, not drinking. It is the same law as over forty states.

[Little Star]

5. "just a freak accident" WTF?????

Who shoots at a light on a pier where people fish in the evening?

[Bryan Buchan]

6. Um...that would be intoxicated people

...who obviously don't think before they act...this is horrible and I hope that man goes to prison until his last breath.

[madinmaryland]

27. Drunks with guns. nt

[Blue_Tires]

35. I knew a guy once who lived in the woods

he'd shoot at deer through his kitchen window...

[RSillsbee]

45. I bet he had serious hearing loss NT

[Lucian]

39. A drunken idiot with a gun.

[ET Awful]

7. That's not a "freak accident," that my friends is what I call

Pure human fuckery.

If you point a gun in the general direction of people and pull the trigger, one of them getting hit isn't a "freak accident", it's the result of pointing a gun towards people and pulling the trigger.

[The Doctor.]

8. My first thought too.

There are plenty of people that shouldn't have sharpened pencils, much less firearms.

[bullwinkle428]

29. A "freak accident" is an asteroid falling out the sky and crushing someone.

With apologies to Monty Python, this is something completely different.

[baldguy]

9. Too many morons with guns.

The solution from gun's rights crowd, of course, is giving more guns to more morons.

[friendly_iconoclast]

51. Who's giving guns away? I could use a shotgun for home defense.

Oh, sorry- I forgot that was posted for emotional effect, and wasn't intended to convey any actual information.

I'll try not to forget next time...

[SteveM]

55. Well, on cue ol' baldy perpetrates the continuing lie:

"The solution from gun's rights crowd, of course, is giving more guns to more morons."

Just wind him up and he goes all day.

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. Freak accident? Caused by a freak, that's what.

Some drunk gun-toting freak killed a little boy with his fucking gun.

[JVS]

11. Freak accidents happen a lot less frequently when you don't get hammered and shoot at things...

for no goddamned reason.

[Pooka Fey]

21. + 1000

[chrisa]

12. I hate stupid, drunk idiots.

"Oh, there's a light over there. I'll shoot at it multiple times!

[aikoaiko]

13. Assinine behavior on the part of the neighbor to be shooting at a light. Violation of rule 4.

Following these simple rules keep most gun injuries and deaths from happening.

1. All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.

[Upton]

14. Shouldn't get drunk and shoot..

extremely irresponsible. However, despite what some posters appear to be claiming, I don't see how this in anyway reflects negatively upon law abiding gun owners...

[SidDithers]

23. Wasn't this guy a "law abiding gun owner" right up until he shot the kid?...nt

Sid

[friendly_iconoclast]

53. Yep. Just like "law abiding drivers" and "law abiding pool owners"....

that manage to kill kids.

[SteveM]

56. Most crims are "law abiding" until they first break the law, right? nt

[A Simple Game]

31. As a gun owner, here is my 2 cents worth.

I'm assuming you are a gun owner too. Nice show of sympathy for the child.

Shouldn't get drunk and shoot? Why not? If I want to go out to the desert and have a few brews then shoot the empties, why not? All by myself, no one else for miles, can't hurt anyone but myself. What's the harm?

The problem wasn't that he was drunk, the problem wasn't that he was shooting a gun, the problem was he saw nothing wrong with putting the two together along with shooting at an unknown target. A person that can't see the high probability of error in that scenario shouldn't have had a gun in the first place. A four year old was shot with a gun, by a drunk, who likely up till then was a law abiding gun owner.

People like you are the reason I, a non-drinker who rarely shoot my guns, fear for having my guns taken away. You believe gun ownership is a black and white proposition. You think everyone should have the right to own a gun until they lose that right. Many gun owners and yes, gun critics, know there are some, perhaps many that should not have access to guns. Think real hard, I bet you know someone that has a gun that really isn't too safe to be around while hunting or target practicing. How many mass shooting were there this weekend alone? I count at least three in the States. Now add on this four year old. How long before we start to lose this "everyone has a right to a gun" debate?

We need to start policing gun ownership and gun owners need to take the lead, or we will have no choice but to follow! If we have to follow, we probably won't like where the leaders take us.

[SteveM]

57. You will find what motivates some controller/prohibitionists...

is a livid hatred for people who have guns. First, they demonize the object, then they demonize those who have the object. What motivates this animosity has been speculated on many times, but I am sure it is a strong desire to punish those of other cultures.

Prohibitionism as a policy and ideology has very deep roots in this nation, and is not limited to a political party.

It is so unfortunate that these culture warriors place the desire to punish and hate well above any compassion for the victims of crime they post here; similarly, they rarely have criticism of da thug and da crims that perpetrate many of these crimes (you will note that their wrath is saved for some drunken lout or idiot -- as long as they have a gun). It is difficult to understand why repeat felons and thugs seem to escape such wrath.

[Fokker Trip]

15. The trauma to the the father would be unbelievable.

To be sitting with your little son fishing and to have him be shot in the head out of the blue.

I've lost family members, but only when it was their time. I can't even imagine the pain felt by the family.

So sad.

[mackdaddy]

16. Worse than Drunk Driving here

This guy was drunk and got behind a trigger. That part is similar to you typical drunk driver getting behind a wheel.

But this guy admitted to at a minimum intentionally trying to cause property damage. If he knew they were there, he in his drunken state was possibly trying to "put a little scare" into some people fishing.

This would be like playing "chicken" with on-coming traffic. At a minimum it was like driving in the oncoming lane on purpose just because you are drunk and "feel like it". He may not have intended to kill anyone, but he was intentionally and drunkenly trying to do something stupid.


That does not sound like a freak accident.

[TheCowsCameHome]

18. This miserable wretch will say he's sorry and how he's fighting demons,

meanwhile, the father will be arranging to bury his little boy because of a gun-toting drunk that should be in the ground instead of the young boy.

I hope Pond lives a short and miserable life from this day forward.

Accident, my ass.

[MineralMan]

20. Drunken morons with guns. It's a freaking epidemic.

Here's my suggestion: Get a DUI and be banned from firearms possession for life. The DUI is a clear indication that you are a moron who does extremely unsafe things when drinking and should not be allowed to own firearms. It is that simple. I'd bet a pile of money that the moron in this story has had at least one DUI, and probably multiple ones. The connection is clear.

[Obamanaut]

24. Indiana!

Yup.

When there is an OP re weird, bizarre, horrendous, etc. actions by anyone in Florida or Texas, there will often be a one word response in the thread - "Florida" or "Texas" - suggesting that's where all the weird stuff happens.

Turn about is fair play.

There is no geographic boundary to weird. It is everywhere

[Evasporque]

25. Guns er'fun! Fun fun with gunz...yeeehaaawwww BANG BANG! nt

[TwilightGardener]

28. Not an accident. Chose to drink, chose to pick up a gun, chose to fire.

[divvy]

33. Yet another nut with a gun ...... what could possibly go wrong?

[ileus]

36. Why would anyone shoot at a light in the dark....

[gvstn]

40. Excellent question!

[gaspee]

38. Poor baby

I don't have children, but I think if I were this child's mother, I would now be in jail for murder. I would kill the scumbag who shot my baby.

[Search and Destroy]

41. Another innocent dies at the hands of a gun owner. sad.

[friendly_iconoclast]

52. FTFY: Another innocent dies at the hands of an irresponsible idiot. Sad.

It is indeed sad, but guns are way down on the list of causes of accidental child deaths.


Far more are killed by drowning and car accidents- but I've yet to see someone attempt to blame all swimming pool and car

owners for those...

[SteveM]

58. You have the problem I mentioned above...

You are more concerned with displaying your hatred for gun-owners (some 80,000,000 of them) than with the life of a child. You only exacerbate a culture war which has been so damaging to millions of people in this country. But it's worth it, hey?

[LWolf]

42. I'm not 4, but

I stay out of the woods during hunting season. I live next to public land, and my dog, horse and I take to the trails on a regular basis; our riding/trail season comes to an end when deer season begins, even though those are the last weeks of reasonable weather for riding until spring. I wear neon colors; so do the horse and dog. The hunters are generally respectful if they know we're there. You don't see far in the trees, though, and hearing gunfire going off from several directions at once raises adrenaline levels, to say the least. I'm not chancing stray bullets.

That's different from a stupid yahoo engaged in alcohol-spurred target practice.

I'm not sure who to grieve for the most; the little boy who won't grow up, or the family who lost him.

[gejohnston]

47. not really related but culture shock when I came to Florida is that

Hunters do stuff here that would never fly out west. In Wyoming, wearing Neon orange or red during hunting season, by hunters is required. The conservation officers uniform is red. In Florida, these guys are wearing cammo. Since deer do not see color, only gray scale, I first and continuing thought is. :wtf: :dunce:

[LWolf]

48. That's truly scary.

I wear neon pink during hunting season, simply because I have it. I don't hunt, but I can hear hunters from my house. Thankfully, they have been careful to leave a good cushion of space between my property fence and where they are shooting.

I know it's frustrating for them when the deer are jumping fences and hanging out in local pastures during hunting season. The bulk of the local hunting happens in local mountains; the deer here in the foothills are scrubbier, and I'm told wormier, than those further up; I guess a diet of high desert scrub makes for scrubbier deer. The population is high enough that we need some hunters willing to take a few.

[SteveM]

59. In Texas and most other states "hunter orange" is required...

when hunting deer, squirrels and other mammals on public lands. On private lands, there is no requirement in Texas. Are you sure this is different than in Florida?

Incidentally, hunter orange is NOT required on public lands or anywhere when hunting waterfowl, dove, turkeys.

[Kolesar]

43. My neighbor got drunk, walked over to our house, and started shooting his pistol into the ground

He was a "security guard"

[friendly_iconoclast]

54. He should have become a "convicted criminal" thanks to that stunt. n/t

[gejohnston]

46. can't find the clip, but there is a scene in "The Shootist"

that should be part of firearms training and should be first in the rules. The scene where Books is teaching Ron Howard's character how to shoot, Books said something to the effect that "booze and guns don't mix"

[Kennah]

I've spent over a 100 hours in advanced firearms training, and I have some ability to teach.

But there's no way I could fix this degree of stupid.

[Kennah]

60. I've spent over a 100 hours in advanced firearms training, and I have some ability to teach.

But there's no way I could fix this degree of stupid.

[Kennah]

61. Keyboard is doubling. Have to now go pay $200.