4 Year Old Boy killed New Year's Eve by Rifle Shot in Air

[Ban Hammer 13,632]

If this thread was a hockey game half of you would be in the penalty box

is that where the egg nog is?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The story was in the Atlanta Journey Constitution under 'Local News". In case you don't know, Atlanta is in Georgia. Decatur is considered a major suburb in the Metropolitan area of Greater Atlanta and is located in DeKalb County to the east of downtown Atlanta. http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Atlanta&state=GA the scale is in the upper left hand corner so you can measure the distances for yourself.

If you are really concerned about the ballistics of the projectile and the make of the weapon, you can order a copy of the actual incident report for $25 - it is available 5 days after the incident - which will be tomorrow. Here is the link: http://www.dekalbpolice.com/central_info.html . DeKalb County Police headquarters, btw, is in Tucker Georgia - you can see that on the above map as well. Where on earth you got 165 miles I have absolutely no idea.

If you want to contact the Church of God Prophecy in Decatur here is the contact information - you can call them up and ask them how thick their church roof is: http://www.ypmetro.com/page/GA/decatur/chu...cy/3-21950.html

Now that you have the information that everyone is demanding, perhaps it is time to focus on the tragedy itself. That was my purpose in posting the article - the needless death of a young child at the hands of someone who is too stupid to know that firing an armed weapon into the air (and if you want details on angle and speed trajectories and such, I can find that for you too ) as a means of celebrating the New Year may actually hurt or kill someone.

That being said, I am putting my moderator's hat back on and saying please stop the insults and personal attacks and baiting. If you really want to know some more facts you all have the means at your own fingertips and can look them up rather than continue this pointless back and forth exchange of insults and attacks.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Kathryn41

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It certainly is a tragedy.

Not sure how it can be prevented given how pervasive gun culture has become in this society.

People are so romanticised by the so called right to bear arms, that they don't want to hear that innocent people sometimes pay the price for it.

Edited January 5, 2010 by Gene Hunt

[NickD 203]

The story was in the Atlanta Journey Constitution under 'Local News". In case you don't know, Atlanta is in Georgia. Decatur is considered a major suburb in the Metropolitan area of Greater Atlanta and is located in DeKalb County to the east of downtown Atlanta. http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Atlanta&state=GA the scale is in the upper left hand corner so you can measure the distances for yourself.

If you are really concerned about the ballistics of the projectile and the make of the weapon, you can order a copy of the actual incident report for $25 - it is available 5 days after the incident - which will be tomorrow. Here is the link: http://www.dekalbpolice.com/central_info.html . DeKalb County Police headquarters, btw, is in Tucker Georgia - you can see that on the above map as well. Where on earth you got 165 miles I have absolutely no idea.

If you want to contact the Church of God Prophecy in Decatur here is the contact information - you can call them up and ask them how thick their church roof is: http://www.ypmetro.com/page/GA/decatur/chu...cy/3-21950.html

Now that you have the information that everyone is demanding, perhaps it is time to focus on the tragedy itself. That was my purpose in posting the article - the needless death of a young child at the hands of someone who is too stupid to know that firing an armed weapon into the air (and if you want details on angle and speed trajectories and such, I can find that for you too ) as a means of celebrating the New Year may actually hurt or kill someone.

That being said, I am putting my moderator's hat back on and saying please stop the insults and personal attacks and baiting. If you really want to know some more facts you all have the means at your own fingertips and can look them up rather than continue this pointless back and forth exchange of insults and attacks.

I gather then the Illinois does not have a monopoly on Decatur nor DeKalb, just read those two "cities" at NBC news. Perhaps would be inappropriate to say a redneck fired those shots, or perhaps a snowbird as they now call them that had too much to drink. Still say gun owners should have military type training before owning a gun.

[slim 1,533]

If the tragedy of this situation is so trivial

It's not a tragedy, it's a crime.

parents leave baby in the car for 4 hours in 100f weather. Baby does not survive. Well making the parents out to be the bad guy is, well, "foolish"

When those incidents happen, I never hear a public outcry for banning automobiles.

More often than not, you hear "gosh, those were some stupid parents." Not "let's ban automobiles because of the criminal act of someone using them."

Can go along with military training before a person is permitted to buy a firearm.

Permits, laws, licensing, training..... all well and good.

But, I'd like to remind everyone, it's already illegal to shoot your gun in the air in Atlanta. Would requiring permits/training for law-abiding folks have stopped this incident?

perhaps it is time to focus on the tragedy itself.

Once again, this was not a tragedy, it was a crime perpetrated by a criminal.

As soon as all of you "let's get these bad guns off the streets" folks can come up with a good way to disarm criminals without disarming the rest of us too, I'm all ears.

It certainly is a tragedy.

It was not a tragedy, it was a crime.

Not sure how it can be prevented given how pervasive gun culture has become in this society.

People are so romanticised by the so called right to bear arms, that they don't want to hear that innocent people sometimes pay the price for it.

People are so misinformed of the so called "loophole" that gives criminals a right to possess guns and shoot 4-year-olds. What gives them the so called right to do so?

Until you can come up with something that does not take away my Right (and there's nothing so-called about it, it is plainly written in the Constitution) you should maybe think about not granting "extra" so-called rights to criminals. Criminals do not have the right to murder anyone. They do not have the right to possess guns. Why are you trying to give them that right?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Slim, my ability to curtail your second amendment rights is as non existent as your ability to curtail my first amendment right to free speech.

Accept that there are differences of opinion and move on.

In point of fact I didn't say anything about banning guns, its simply not practical to do that in this country.

And yes this incident is a tragedy. And yes a crime took place. I know you have a bugbear about terminology and calling things tragedies but its pretty irrelevant when you come to realise that a thing can be many different things at once.

A tragic death caused by an irresponsible, criminal act. Wow who knew?

[natty bumppo 297]

A tragic death caused by an irresponsible, criminal act. Wow who knew?

good thing it wasn't a responsible, criminal act eh?

[Ban Hammer 13,632]

good thing it wasn't a responsible, criminal act eh?

[Danno 1,228]

Firing a weapon into the air is hardly "freedom of expression" & what happened to the 4 year old boy is tragic and at the very least would constitute criminally negligent homicide if the person who shot the round into the air is ever caught (highely unlikely but possible). With that being said there are always knee-jerk reactions after a senseless tragedy & banning firearms because of one reckless individual is a knee-jerk reaction.

Actually, when I wrote that I was speaking of something all together different.

blindly shooting guns off (in an urban area no less) is not in any sense anything but stupid to say the least.

[The_Dude 1,142]

It's not a tragedy, it's a crime.

trag⋅e⋅dy  /ˈtrædʒɪdi/ [traj-i-dee] - (noun) - a lamentable, dreadful, or fatal event or affair; calamity; disaster

I think the definition of tragedy is fairly clear.......

At least Natty and Charles seem to have dropped the red herring argument about the calibre and might actually be willing to move onto the facts of the matter.

[Ban Hammer 13,632]

At least Natty and Charles seem to have dropped the red herring argument about the calibre and might actually be willing to move onto the facts of the matter.

it's a red herring in the op story, we were just pointing it out.

[The_Dude 1,142]

it's a red herring in the op story, we were just pointing it out.

You were using it as a pretext to troll gene hunt. How the hell did Natty's drunken rage for 3 pages not get a suspension is beyond me.

[natty bumppo 297]

it's a red herring in the op story, we were just pointing it out.

maybe if the dead fish hangs around long enough ... others will finally notice the stench and understand

[The_Dude 1,142]

maybe if the dead fish hangs around long enough ... others will finally notice the stench and understand

And maybe, just maybe you can move onto facts that are actually germane to this situation...

[natty bumppo 297]

And maybe, just maybe you can move onto facts that are actually germane to this situation...

like the lack of in the op?