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[Hunter S. Thompson] Son's shotgun tribute
Rocky Mountain News ^ | March 2. 2005 | Deborah Frazier and Jeff Kass

Posted on 03/03/2005 8:50:31 AM PST by Coastal

Shortly after reporting the death of his father, Hunter S. Thompson's son walked outside to fire three shots into the air, according to reports released Tuesday.

Several Pitkin County sheriff's deputies heard Juan Thompson fire the shots as they approached the Woody Creek home, known as the Owl Farm.

"Juan told me he had shot a shotgun into the air to mark the passing of his father," said Pitkin County Deputy Sheriff John Armstrong in his report.

Hunter Thompson, who reigned as a savage social critic and inventor of Gonzo journalism for decades, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the kitchen of his home on Feb. 20.

(Excerpt) Read more at rockymountainnews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: gonzojournalism; hunterthompson
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1 posted on 03/03/2005 8:50:33 AM PST by Coastal
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To: Coastal
"Juan told me he had shot a shotgun into the air to mark the passing of his father," said Pitkin County Deputy Sheriff John Armstrong in his report.

Oh yeah, let me do that and I'd be in jail before one could say,"Gonzo". What a bunch of loons.

2 posted on 03/03/2005 8:51:44 AM PST by NEBUCHADNEZZAR1961
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To: Coastal

something seems fishy.


3 posted on 03/03/2005 8:52:55 AM PST by Tulsa Ramjet
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To: NEBUCHADNEZZAR1961
Oh yeah, let me do that and I'd be in jail before one could say,"Gonzo".

Really? How sad for you.

I can step off my back porch and fire any of my weapons, as I see fit, with zero repercussions from The Man or my neighbors.

Potential burglars hate it, though.

4 posted on 03/03/2005 8:55:39 AM PST by Hank Rearden (Never allow anyone who could only get a government job attempt to tell you how to run your life.)
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To: Tulsa Ramjet

Great way to explain the gunpowder presence on your hands and arms at the ??crime?? scene!


5 posted on 03/03/2005 8:59:13 AM PST by liberateUS
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To: Tulsa Ramjet

Sounds a bit like a cover story for powder residue to me and would be viewed as such by any cop.

Hunter would have known this, but then again, maybe Hunter hated Junior.


6 posted on 03/03/2005 9:00:22 AM PST by MeanWestTexan
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To: Coastal

Just a note to all my FReeper friends; if I should ever be reported as dead from credible sources, I expect you ALL to go outside and fire your shotguns into the air. Then raise a few drinks to me.


7 posted on 03/03/2005 9:07:36 AM PST by Sender (Team Infidel USA)
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To: Coastal
"Juan told me he had shot a shotgun into the air to mark the passing of his father," said Pitkin County Deputy Sheriff John Armstrong in his report."


I wonder what the Pitkin County Sheriff and the Pitkin County DA would have said to me if I had fired off a shotgun or a BB gun or disturbed the evidence at the scene of a suicide or a possible homicide.
Pitkin County like Aspen are very sensitive to needs of their wealthy and famous citizens.
8 posted on 03/03/2005 9:08:27 AM PST by Bar-Face
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To: Coastal
"Juan told me he had shot a shotgun into the air to mark the passing of his father," said Pitkin County Deputy Sheriff John Armstrong in his report."


I wonder what the Pitkin County Sheriff and the Pitkin County DA would have said to me if I had fired off a shotgun or a BB gun or disturbed the evidence at the scene of a suicide or a possible homicide.
Pitkin County like Aspen are very sensitive to needs of their wealthy and famous citizens.
9 posted on 03/03/2005 9:09:36 AM PST by Bar-Face
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To: liberateUS

You've been watching WAAAAY too much CSI.......


10 posted on 03/03/2005 9:11:15 AM PST by roaddog727 (The marginal propensity to save is 1 minus the marginal propensity to consume.)
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To: NEBUCHADNEZZAR1961

" Oh yeah, let me do that and I'd be in jail before one could say,"Gonzo". What a bunch of loons."

My wife used to bitch at me for shooting off of the deck. Seems I would sometimes forget to pick up the casings. Women get upset at the smallest things.


11 posted on 03/03/2005 9:17:07 AM PST by dljordan
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To: Coastal

Firing off his gun in the air, eh? Where was this kid raised - Palestine? Iraq?


12 posted on 03/03/2005 9:19:42 AM PST by Emmett McCarthy
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To: Coastal
A soft-sided gun case was found at Hunter Thompson's feet along with a spent shell casing and a semiautomatic Smith & Wesson model 645 handgun, Ryan's report said.

The gun's magazine had six bullets left in the clip, but no bullet was found in the gun's firing chamber, Ryan said.

"I think a bullet from the magazine should have cycled into the chamber, but if there's a malfunction, they may not," DiSalvo said.

DiSalvo said he hadn't checked the gun, but the weapon could have been on a manual cycle that would have stopped the other bullets from going into the chamber.

Any of our many FReeper handgunners know if this is a plausible story? I am not familiar with the S&W 465, but it sounds to me like this would either have to be a malfunction, or the clip was inserted into the weapon after it was fired...

13 posted on 03/03/2005 9:21:42 AM PST by gridlock (ELIMINATE PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
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To: Coastal

Gonzo, bonzo, the guys was a nut case, appears the nut did not fall far from the tree.


14 posted on 03/03/2005 9:37:53 AM PST by Ursus arctos horribilis ("It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!" Emiliano Zapata 1879-1919)
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To: NEBUCHADNEZZAR1961

Why is this now ringing in my head:

"Well the Georgia Patrol wazza makin' his rounds
So I fired a shot just ta flag 'im down,
And a big-bellied sherrif grabbed his gun and sed 'why ja do it?'"


15 posted on 03/03/2005 9:43:59 AM PST by Hegemony Cricket (You are witnessing History in the making! (We are having to rewrite prehistory))
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To: liberateUS
Great way to explain the gunpowder presence on your hands and arms at the ??crime?? scene!

Excerpt from Aspen Times

Bob headed straight for Hunter's kitchen. He knelt down and the fireman unzipped the body bag, snagging it a couple of times along the way. Bob looked at his friend for a long moment and said, "You son of a bitch, you screwed up my birthday party."

Then he walked over to Juan, embraced him and said, "Your dad just lowered our property values."

Hours later, during the long and slow drive home, I finally asked my husband what Hunter looked like in death. Bob took a deep breath and said, "He looked surprised."

- Gabrielle Rafelson


16 posted on 03/03/2005 9:52:12 AM PST by HAL9000 (Get a Mac - The Ultimate FReeping Machine)
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To: Emmett McCarthy
Maybe he saw that one Star Trek where the Klingon's yell to heaven that another warrior is about to enter their realm.

17 posted on 03/03/2005 9:52:46 AM PST by numberonepal (Don't Even Think About Treading On Me)
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To: Hegemony Cricket

That's the night the lights went out...


18 posted on 03/03/2005 9:57:20 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: gridlock

Well, I know that it ain't a "clip". It's a "magazine". The cop had it right, but whoever wrote the story didn't. I've carried S&W pistols for years and, if the magazine is not fully inserted and locked in place, even the round in the chamber will not fire; and, if there were rounds in the magazine, they would cycle into the chamber after the first shot. If the magazine is empty, the slide locks open. I'm far from any kind of expert, but this is my experience with S&W pistols, although I've never owned the specific model named in the article. I guess one other thing that some folks don't seem to realize is that a revolver is not properly referred to as a "pistol", but that terms refers to a semi-automatic handgun or, I guess to be real technical, it could refer to a fully-automatic "machine pistol". At least, that's my understanding and, if it's incorrect, I'd be happy to receive better information.


19 posted on 03/03/2005 10:12:21 AM PST by Emmett McCarthy
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To: Emmett McCarthy

So what do you call flintlock side arms, besides flintlock pistols?


20 posted on 03/03/2005 11:42:06 AM PST by MeanWestTexan
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