While this story sounds like another dipshit attempting a late Darwin Award entry, it is really another case of the anti-firearms education bigots maiming a teenager.
A teenager has been hospitalized with facial injuries caused when a bullet he found fired while held in a vice, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office reported Wednesday.
The victim, Alex Carman, 15, was taken to Bayfront Medical Center with injuries to the right upper cheek.
Investigators say the Riverridge H.S. student found a 380 bullet on the side of a road, brought it home and put it into a vice. He apparently struck the the primer end of the bullet with a metal screw, causing it to fire.
They say a 22-caliber bullet pierced with a screw was also found near the vice. On the ground was a hammer and a small pool of blood.
Investigators say it “appears Alex placed the bullet in the vice, hammered a screw into the primer causing the bullet to explode.”
This all could have been stopped by a single hour of firearms safety training.
The Hunter’s Safety Course I took at age 9 to enable me to get my hunting license covered the construction and function of both rimfire and centerfire ammunition as well as what to do with found ammo.
This also could have been stopped by an attentive adult.
It is clear from the story that there were no firearms in the home home, otherwise he wouldn’t have had to find his experiment on the roadside.
And, because they are the media, they had to misstate what actually happened in the title of the article
“Teen Accidentally Shoots Self in Face”
It is impossible to “shoot” a bullet without a firearm. He “ignited” the primer which “set off” the chemical reaction in the cartridge case, but he did not “shoot himself”. He was most likely hit with shrapnel from the cartridge case, not the projectile, unlike what the article states. Ricochets notwithstanding, it would be physically impossible to be hit with the projectile while looking at the primer.
One could even make the argument that he didn’t do it by “accident”, except for the fact that he probably didn’t have the knowledge to know what would happen. In his little uneducated world, he had no idea that the sides of the case unsupported by the vice jaws couldn’t withstand the pressures within when the primer was ignited.
A little education goes a long way. And could have helped him save face (pun intended).
Story found @ KisP
Wow…
Always easier to argue “what could have been” when it never was, isn’t it?
This is just another reason to bring back firearms safety training to public and private schools. I also blame the parent of this child and not so much the child himself. Even if he appaers to be a short bus canidate.
Wonder if he’s related to this idiot:
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/09082006/80-132/man-dies-opening-grenade-sledgehammer.html
Hey, Hey, It’s not the kid’s fault. It’s the fault of whoever lost the round. Or whoever owned the screw and hammer. Or maybe it’s George Bush’s fault for allowing teenagers to have access to screws and hammers. What ever….
Kinda reminds me of my days as a firefighter and instructor. Some students were really wary about fighting fires where firearms, more particularly the ammo might be present. Shotgun shells were generally no problem. The plastic case would melt before the powder ignited so you’d just get a fizzle. Cased rifle ammo would cook off but it would be a rare thing for the bullet to develop enough velocity to penetrate the turnout gear. On the other hand I’ve seen aerosol cans cook off and penetrate an interior wall with ease.
I like how the Responsible Journalist doesn’t know the difference between an immoral practice or act and a device having two jaws that may be separated or brought together by means of a screw…
But what do I know, I’m just one of the unwashed masses that never learnt stuff in college.