This is anyone's nightmare ...

[batguano]

When I was in the DA's office here in NY, when we handled a weapons case, occassionally it involved a discharge of the weapon. The lawyer representing the accused would invariably say, "No one was hurt," in an effort to minimize the case. We always reflected on the fact that if a bullet fired from a gun can lodge itself anywhere in a randomly chosen trajectory, it will find a child to lodge itself in. Now read the link:


http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/06/boy....ap/index.html

These leo's have to be beside themselves with grief

[dinoman]

You ALWAYS look to see what is behind your target you're shooting at - ALWAYS. It doesn't matter if you're shooting a snake or shooting at a target on the range, you CHECK to see where your bullet might potentially go before you even stick your finger on that trigger. That's basic firearms safety.

If they really needed to shoot the snake out of that tree they should have gotten into a position in which the bullet would have been traveling in a safe direction and using snake shot (yet, SHOOTING the darn thing out was incredibly unwise decision) .

[Nina51]

ohmyGOD!

[Muttling]

That is terrible. I have to agree with the last line of the story, the officer should faces criminal charges.

[Nykademus]

Originally posted by dinoman
You ALWAYS look to see what is behind your target you're shooting at - ALWAYS. It doesn't matter if you're shooting a snake or shooting at a target on the range, you CHECK to see where your bullet might potentially go before you even stick your finger on that trigger. That's basic firearms safety.

If they really wanted to shoot the snake out of that tree they should have gotten into a position in which the bullet would have been traveling in a safe direction and using snake shot.

My thoughts exactly. I dont see why they needed to have shot it anyway. Animal control carry those noose sticks, or if the animal really needed to be killed a limb trimmer would have done the job.

I really feel for this kid's grandfather.

[Minuteman]

Makes me sick...

[porky]

Watching the Grandfather in that video just breaks my heart

[Sk8r]

Noble is back in my old home grounds. It's a tiny little Andy Griffith type town, local lads become sheriffs, police, etc, no great amount of training, and it's the kind of place where many families have been in the town since statehood, and everybody's linked by church, marriage, kinship---probably not a person in town who's not known to everybody else in town, and law enforcement is a matter of personal knowledge of about everybody and where to find them usually on Tuesday afternoon. I think that man will punish himself for the rest of his life---and have to live there and go to church in the same pew as the family for every Sunday of his life. It's just a tragedy for the whole town.

[onereefnotenuf]

"I'm not saying the cop shot him on purpose," he said. "But let me tell you -- if I had a kid and put him in this car and didn't put him in a car seat and he got killed on the way to town, they'd charge me with murder ... and what this cop did is a lot worse than that."

amen to that.

[UH_OH_5_OH]

I agree Sk8r........he will punish himself for the rest of his life !

Statistics prove it out........without proper counseling...don't be surprised if this officer doesn't eat his own gun sometime in the near future. This is a tragedy not many can live with !

My prayers are for EVERYONE in this horrible incident !

[batguano]

^agreed

[Travis L. Stevens]

Yes, this isn't too far from me. Less than 100 miles. It's really sad that it happened, and I'm surprised that this cop is getting off easy. You know, if the bullet managed to kill the cop, he would probably win the Darwin award this year.

[crp]

Sad on both sides. I can't imagine losing a child nor being the one responsible for it. Their lives will never be the same.

[Travis L. Stevens]

Seriously though, what gets me is what gives anyone the right to just shoot and kill a snake in a tree? Where was animal control? What was the snake doing that deserved to be shot at? I'm not trying to defend the snake here or anything, but if they just left it alone, or even waited for animal control, no one would have died.

[Sloth]

There are no venomous/dangerous snakes in Oklahoma that would be found in a tree. Ignorance all around...

http://www.oksnakes.org/index.cfm?id=6&venomous=1

[Travis L. Stevens]

Originally posted by Sloth
There are no venomous/dangerous snakes in Oklahoma that would be found in a tree. Ignorance all around...

http://www.oksnakes.org/index.cfm?id=6&venomous=1

Sort of. I've seen dangerous/venomous snakes climb trees when threatened. It makes you wonder if the lady that called out for help with the snake didn't shoo it up a tree with a broom. Albeit, this is highly doubtful, but it is possible.

[RoGeTa]

I agree with travis. I don't know why people think it is their God given right to kill anything they want too. I feel sorry for for both parties involved. The family missing a son, and the police officer having to live with it.

[Sk8r]

Just knowing the local culture, I'm betting somebody snagged it with a hoe, tossed it, it wedged in a tree, and the officer tried to take it out in the theory it could pose a hazard up there.

A string of bad decisions and a terrible result of probable good if not wise intentions. If the officer had accidently hit the child with a car, it would be bad, but the fact of a weapon discharged, it just hits nerves with a juxtaposition of lethality and innocence that are hard to take.

[mr9iron]

What a horrible thing to happen!! Several lives will be affected by this tragdey.

[JR719]

Tragedy..... Such a horror for the family and a shock to the town.

I don't even want to imagine what the Officer has been thinking.

[dc]

Truely a tragedy!