Pen-gun accident kills budding rap singer

Ohio News Network | Dayton Daily News ^ | 12/5/05

[LibWhacker]

ST. PARIS, Ohio -- Steven Zorn had put the pen gun to his head and clicked before, thinking it was jammed and would not work.

But on the third try, the tiny, silver pistol went off as the 22-year-old budding rap singer was drinking to celebrate an impending record deal. He died later at the hospital.

The shooting Nov. 18 at Zorn's home in this rural village of 2,000, about 50 miles northeast of Dayton. Family, friends and law enforcement officials believe it was accidental.

Family and friends said Zorn drove himself to succeed in the music world. He loved hip hop and wrote songs described as being filled with raw emotion. He taught himself to play the keyboard and record tracts using inexpensive software on his home computer.

"He could make a song out of anything," said friend Shane Hanes, with Zorn the night of the shooting.

Zorn tracked down rap artist Miracle in Georgia and urged the crunk artist to listen to a CD of his original recordings.

"The lyrical content was awesome," Miracle said. "He had a lot of skill. I took a liking to him, took him under my wing."

About a week before he died, a friend gave Zorn the pen gun with the .25-caliber bullet.

"This guy gave it to him with a jammed bullet in it," said Zorn's mother, Lisa McCoy-Horn.

She said that the night of the shooting, her son had been drinking and she confronted him about it. Later, Hanes and another friend joined Zorn in a small barn he had converted into his living quarters and sound studio.

"He walked up to his computer and pulled the pen gun out of his pocket and started playing with it," Hanes recalled. "I looked at him and said, 'Steve, you shouldn't be playing with that, that's a loaded gun.'"

When Champaign County sheriff's deputies arrived, they found Zorn shot in the head. He was taken to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, where he died.

"Steven had a career and his dreams all ahead of him," said McCoy-Horn. "But messing with these pen guns, these kids need to know that life can be taken in a blink of an eye."

McCoy-Horn wants to see pen guns outlawed. She said several schools have expressed interest in having her come to speak out against the weapons. And she would also like to take her message to the Legislature.

"I've cried and cried so much, but I'm mad now," McCoy-Horn said. "Something's got to be done."

[freedumb2003]

'rap' and 'singer' are contradictory terms.

For those that like the genre, the only proper term is "rapper" IMHO.

[Dallas59]

ROFLMAO!!!!

[Dashing Dasher]

I did.


I did.

[theDentist]

McCoy-Horn said. "Something's got to be done."

Something was done. Mr. Zorn became an excellent example for all. Put up his photo (before and after is effective) above the following;

Rule 1. Treat every gun as though it were loaded. It is NOT a toy.
Rule 2. See Rule 1.

[Ninian Dryhope]

"Why disparage the Mom?"

Disparage? I am just calling a spade a spade. The Mom is blaming the death on the pen gun. "McCoy-Horn wants to see pen guns outlawed." It was not the pen gun that caused her son's death, it was her son putting the gun up to his head and pulling the trigger. It does not matter what type of gun is involved, it is not a good practice to put a gun to one's head and then pull the trigger. She is an idiot.

[MaryFromMichigan]

Maybe.
But I think she's just in a world of hurt.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

this is a great family story!

Nah. Just a little chlorine in the gene pool.

Hope you had a great weekend.
<nudge, nudge. wink, wink. A nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat, eh?>

[Ninian Dryhope]

"But I think she's just in a world of hurt."

You are probably right. I guess I was being harsh. It is not as if she is reading this forum, though.

[dinodino]

Holy cats! Ban pen guns! BAN THEM NOW!

[Dashing Dasher]

Great weekend - thanks for asking.

And yes, a little gene pool cleansing now and again is a good thing.

[Dashing Dasher]

Ditto on the idiot call.

[MikefromOhio]

This guy gets a "DEE DEE DEE" award, straight from Mr. Carlos Mencia

[supercat]

Plus, I do believe that this 'pen gun' her son used to kill himself is/was an unregistered and therefore illegal 'AOW' as far as the BATFE considers it.

According to what I've read, for a weapon not to be an NFA firearm, it must be clearly identifiable as a gun when it is in ready-to-fire condition. There are some pen guns that meet this requirement and others that do not.

[Emmett McCarthy]

WHy didn't the school ask her to come warn students about pens?

[Oztrich Boy]

But on the third try, the tiny, silver pistol went off

Third time's a charm

[Palladin]

Calling Mr. Darwin. We have an award winner for you in Ohio.

[Oztrich Boy]

Crunk music is classified as a sub-division of Dirty South or Southern rap, and is an outgrowth of Atlanta based Miami Bass (and to a lesser degree, New Orleans Bounce).

I didn't know that

[Redcloak]

McCoy-Horn wants to see pen guns outlawed. She said several schools have expressed interest in having her come to speak out against the weapons. And she would also like to take her message to the Legislature.

"I've cried and cried so much, but I'm mad now," McCoy-Horn said. "Something's got to be done."

How about outlawing stupid instead?

Well...

OK... I can see how that's impractical. Outlaw stupid and Hip-Hop could vanish.

[LibWhacker]

If anyone knows what was wrong with my #38, please tell me... so I don't repeat the mistake. All it was was a couple of pictures of pen guns, along with my comment that a number of you had said some pretty hilarious things.

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WRONG WITH THAT?!?!?!

Thanks. :-(

[martin_fierro]