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Rapper kills himself with pen gun
Seattle PI ^ | 12/06/05 | AP/Seattle PI

Posted on 12/06/2005 8:48:15 AM PST by raccoonradio

ST. PARIS, Ohio -- Steven Zorn had put the pen gun to his head and clicked before, apparently 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 artist was drinking to celebrate an impending record deal. He died at a hospital.

The Nov. 18 shooting at Zorn's home in this rural village of 2,000, about 50 miles northeast of Dayton, is believed to have been accidental, according to family, friends and law enforcement officials.

"Steven had a career and his dreams all ahead of him," said Zorn's mother, Lisa McCoy-Horn. She said she wants lawmakers to outlaw pen guns, which are small-caliber, single-shot weapons that resemble pens.

Zorn had taught himself to play the keyboard and record tracts using inexpensive software on his home computer. He 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.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; Music/Entertainment
KEYWORDS: accidents; darwinaward; darwinrecordssignee; ohio; rapper; stevenzorn; whatawaytogo
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>>was drinking

Oh, demon alcohol (the Kinks)...

>>she wants lawmakers to outlaw pen guns

Death by Paper-Mate

Darwin Awards ping

1 posted on 12/06/2005 8:48:16 AM PST by raccoonradio
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To: raccoonradio

I was just thinking the same thing! This is definitely Darwin Material.


2 posted on 12/06/2005 8:53:44 AM PST by Personal Responsibility (Liberalism is the philosophy of the stupid - The Great One (thanks Aligncare!))
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To: raccoonradio

"But on the third try, the tiny silver pistol went off as the 22-year-old budding rap artist was drinking to celebrate an impending record deal."

3 posted on 12/06/2005 8:54:02 AM PST by Enterprise (The modern Democrat Party - a toxic stew of mental illness, cultism, and organized crime.)
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To: raccoonradio

Whatzuh pen gun?


4 posted on 12/06/2005 8:54:14 AM PST by freedomson (Tagline comment removed by moderator)
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To: raccoonradio
Stupid is as stupid does.

(Recording 'tracts?')
5 posted on 12/06/2005 8:54:21 AM PST by atomicpossum (Replies should be as pedantic as possible. I love that so much.)
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To: raccoonradio

He busted a pen cap? Sounds like a rap cap mishap.


6 posted on 12/06/2005 8:55:45 AM PST by saganite (The poster formerly known as Arkie 2)
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To: freedomson

7 posted on 12/06/2005 8:56:47 AM PST by Jet Jaguar
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To: raccoonradio

And the gene pool was made brighter thereby...


8 posted on 12/06/2005 8:56:47 AM PST by Old Sarge (In a Hole in the Ground, there Lived a Fobbit...)
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To: atomicpossum

Darwin Awards material to be sure. Reminds me of the one about the Toronto lawyer (IIRC) who wanted to show off just how
sturdy the windows in his building's hallway were, so he
ran up against one...which smashed, and he fell ten
stories to his death. Oops.


9 posted on 12/06/2005 8:58:07 AM PST by raccoonradio
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To: raccoonradio
Playing Russian Roulette with a single shot (pen) gun is a really bad idea.
10 posted on 12/06/2005 8:58:12 AM PST by FairWitness
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To: FairWitness

"Playing Russian Roulette with a single shot (pen) gun is a really bad idea."

Bump.


11 posted on 12/06/2005 8:59:19 AM PST by Rebelbase (Food stamps, section-8, State paid Child support, etc. pay more than the min. wage.)
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To: raccoonradio
Three's a charm? three strikes and your out? or maybe he and some friends were just reenacting a scene from Deer Hunter.
12 posted on 12/06/2005 8:59:39 AM PST by #1CTYankee (That's right, I have no proof. So what of it??)
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To: freedomson

found online:
"Manufactured by Stinger Manufacturing Corporation in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, the Stinger Pengun is a single-shot pistol disguised as a pen. It is 5.6 inches long, weighs only five ounces when empty, and retails for $250. It is currently available in 17 and 22 caliber, and the company's web site (www.stingerpengun.com) promises that more calibers are "Coming Soon!" A past advertisement on the web site states that the gun "Transforms From A 'Pen' To A Legal Pistol In 2 Seconds."


13 posted on 12/06/2005 8:59:41 AM PST by raccoonradio
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To: raccoonradio

http://www.pengun.com

(an info site about the guns; not a manufacturer or seller).
Apparently they are legal, but...:
"The Stinger is the only "legal" pengun -- legal in that it considered an ordinary pistol by the ATF. This is because it cannot fire till it is folded into the recognizable shape of a pistol"


14 posted on 12/06/2005 9:03:09 AM PST by raccoonradio
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To: raccoonradio
The Nov. 18 shooting at Zorn's home in this rural village of 2,000, about 50 miles northeast of Dayton...

Makes it sound like it happened in some 3rd world country.

15 posted on 12/06/2005 9:03:30 AM PST by Cowboy Bob (Liberalism cannot survive in a free and open society.)
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To: raccoonradio

oops, my memory was a bit off. Found online:

"(1996, Toronto) Police said a lawyer demonstrating the safety of windows in a downtown Toronto skyscraper crashed through a pane of glass with his shoulder and plunged twenty-four floors to his death. A police spokesman said Garry, thirty-nine, fell into the courtyard of the Toronto Dominion Bank Tower as he was explaining the strength of the building's windows to visiting law students. Garry had previously conducted the demonstration of window strength without mishap, according to police reports. The managing partner of the law firm that employed the deceased told the Toronto Sun newspaper that Garry was "one of the best and brightest" members of the two-hundred-man association."


16 posted on 12/06/2005 9:04:19 AM PST by raccoonradio
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To: raccoonradio

Finally! Empiric proof that [in this case] the pen is mightier than the sword!


17 posted on 12/06/2005 9:21:54 AM PST by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: raccoonradio
I submitted this to the Darwin Awards, may Mr. Zorn be immortalized in the DAs.
18 posted on 12/06/2005 9:23:40 AM PST by BJClinton (a mad downward spiral, spinning toward something that smells like apocalypse but tastes like chicken)
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To: BJClinton; PzLdr

>>Finally! Empiric proof that [in this case] the pen is mightier than the sword!

He wrote his own obituary...

>>I submitted this to the Darwin Awards, may Mr. Zorn be immortalized in the DAs.

Thanks! It deserves to be there.


19 posted on 12/06/2005 9:32:04 AM PST by raccoonradio
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To: raccoonradio

Oh, well.....


20 posted on 12/06/2005 9:39:07 AM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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