Posted on 06/01/2005 7:54:16 AM PDT by Dog Gone
A 5-year-old Pasadena boy was killed while sleeping in his bedroom today when a bullet fired by a neighbor to break up a wasp's nest strayed and struck the boy.
Pasadena police spokesman Sgt. J.M. Baird said Romeo Gonzalez, 18, was in his second-floor apartment at 3637 Shaver shortly after midnight when he decided to shoot at a wasp's nest hanging from a nearby tree.
Romeo loaded a 12-gauge shotgun and fired at the wasp's nest. The shotgun pellet Gonzalez fired entered a first-floor bedroom where David Marban was sleeping, killing the boy, Baird said.
Gonzalez is charged with deadly conduct and is being held in the Harris County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bond, Baird said.
SO9
I'm tempted to ask the admin moderator to change the thread title to reflect reality, but I think leaving it up as an example of American reporting at its finest also has a strong argument.
Romeo Gonzales (loads shotgun and speaks):
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks
'Tis the east and..
There are those damned wasps again!
Blam!!!
...probably a deer slug or a sabot.
If he was going to lie (and he was) he would've been better off saying it was an accidental discharge. Wait, he was cleaning his shotgun when it went off. Yeah, that's the ticket.
Now that was f'ing funny!
.."Romeo Gonzalez, 18, "
But hark!! What light from yonder window breaks? It's a wasp nest and I'll blow it apart with my trusty shotgun.
Morons shouldn't own guns. It makes it bad for those of us who can think and want to keep them.
He should have used a sledge hammer ...
Memorable Quotes from Aliens (1986)
Hicks
[Pulling out his pump-action shotgun]:
"I like to keep this handy for close encounters."
Even aside from shooting his neighbor, what kind of idiot shoots at a wasp's nest with a shotgun? A drunken idiot, I suspect.
There's only one way to deal with a wasp's nest: with a bug bomb. Get ready, take aim, shoot a stream of poison all over the nest, and run like hell.
At close range a shotgun pattern is still very dense and could easily penetrate a wall, especially if someone is using large shot. It wouldn't surprise me if this guy had had a beer or six and fired a load of #4 buck at the wasps nest from 10' away.
He shot a gun in an apartment complex AT MIDNIGHT. Pretty much guaranteed that drugs or alcohol are involved (unless the Chronicle screwed up that fact, too.)
Feh! I use a soul cube on my wasps.
I finish them off with hairspray,they drop like
They ought to stick to stories on how SUV'S are killing people. Don't you love headlines like:
OUT OF CONTROL SUV KILLS 4
SPEEDING SUV (OK actually it was a Honda Element) KILLS 3
SUV CAUSES CHAIN REACTION. 18 INJURED
Or maybe regarding this story, I'm surprized they didn't tie an SUV into this somehow:
SUV GUN NUT TRIES TO KILL SLEEPING BOY
I'm betting that his "inspiration" to do this idiotic stunt came out of a bottle....
"Deadly Conduct", eh?
Sounds like a slap on the wrist offense to me!
What sort of a moron uses a shotgun to shoot down a wasps nest!!!
A quick trip to any home & garden store for a can of Ortho Wasp & Hornet killer, which shoots like 20 feet, would have done the trick. And what about other infractions such as unlawful discharge of a firearm?
This guy should never be allowed to own a gun in the future if he doesn't have the sense of a used kleenex.
Hmmm, good idea. I can't use the wasp spray because it stains everything.
Stay safe !
We used the hairspray all the time at work and now I use it at home.
Knocks them right down and then you can get them on the floor. The smell is far better too and not as many chemicals so less dangerous for kids and pets.
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