Teen injures eye after BB ricochets off of tree (Life imitates a Christmas Story)

The Post-Standard ^ | Friday December 26, 2008, 3:41 PM | by Robert A. Baker

[Behind Liberal Lines]

SYRACUSE, NY -- A 16-year-old boy was in University Hospital awaiting surgery this afternoon after a BB he shot ricocheted off a tree and struck close to his eye, Syracuse police said.

The boy, whom police have not immediately identified, was wounded about 2:30 p.m. in the backyard of 203 Crafton Ave., Lt. Joe Cecile, speaking for Syracuse police, said. He had been shooting a BB rifle with his uncle when a shot ricocheted off a tree, Cecile said.

The BB lodged very close to the boy's eye, and may have entered the eye socket, but did not seem to affect the eye, Cecile said.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

[the invisib1e hand]

It's all fun and games until...

Oh, wait, is humor allowed on this thread?

[xcamel]

And they didn’t round up 30 or 40 innocent people and haul them off to jail?

perish the thought.

[neodad]

Have the parents been arrested yet?

[leilani]

And they didn’t round up 30 or 40 innocent people and haul them off to jail?

They were otherwise detained...

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

My mother always said “You’re gonna put your eye out!!!” about various projectiles we came up with.

[Cicero]

I suspect that the boy was not standing in a safe place when his uncle shot, although the story says that the boy fired the shot.

I really don’t think that a BB can ricochet off of a tree straight back toward the shooter. It can slide off at an angle, but I can’t imagine a BB bouncing straight back from a tree. Unless maybe he was firing almost straight up into the branches, and it bounced off of several of them before coming back down?

[I see my hands]

Behind Liberal Lines

At least the kid didn't massacre his family or vote for Obama. These days he should get extra desert for that.

HAVE A COOL YULE
Behind Liberal Lines

[Oldpuppymax]

Quick!! Our government must immediately ban BB guns, for the greater good! And the manufacturer should be sued, along with the tree owner. And of course whoever planted it. And the store that sold the BB gun. And the child must be placed with a state agency to protect him from his utterly irresposible parents. Naturally, we’ll be keeping an eye on the doctors and hospitals involved as well. AHH! One BB and a hundred happy trial lawyers. Life is good!

[gundog]

BB’s are copper plated steel. No energy is lost in smashing the projectile. And a straight-back ricochet would be the result if he hit a flat surface. I’ve been hit in the strongside thumb by 9mm ricochets off of concrete.

[raybbr]

I really don’t think that a BB can ricochet off of a tree straight back toward the shooter. It can slide off at an angle, but I can’t imagine a BB bouncing straight back from a tree. Unless maybe he was firing almost straight up into the branches, and it bounced off of several of them before coming back down?

I got an air rifle that shoot pellets. I almost got one in the chest from a tree about 20 feet away. Surprised the heck out of me.

[Sudetenland]

I thought they were illegal in New Jersey.

[ASOC]

How does that go?

Always wear safety glasses when at the range?

Shame on the “adult” - I’m not kidding about the safety glases and I suspect the “BB” gun was more likely a .177 air rifle (higher powered than a spring/air rifle)

[LiberConservative]

“No! No! It was an icicle! Honest!”

[Parley Baer]

Outside of the safety aspect why is this story in the news? Bigger things happen and never a word from the media.

[Vaquero]

BBs tend to bounce back off of hard surfaces.

.177 pellets tend to smush flat and fall straight down.

[RandyGH]

“Those icicles have been known to kill people!”

[AmericanVictory]

I actually did a similar thing when I was about 12 with a 22 shooting shells loaded with birdshot. I posted a target on an oak tree and then started shooting at it, and the birdshot bounced back and stung me all over my face and in my ears. Fortunately I was wearing glasses.

[flipper999]

I managed to do something similar when I was a kid. I had a 4 inch piece of a 2x4 that I was shooting at with my bb gun. However I was having trouble hitting it from a reasonable range (30 ft)...so I kept getting closer and closer at about 10 ft the bb bounce back and hit me on the forhead... (the 2x4 was a hard yellow pine...) I quickly changed my target shooting methods .

[richiep]

Although I grew up with rifles and shotguns stacked in the corner by the front door, and hunted with Dad from the age of twelve or so, I was not allowed to own or use a BB gun.
Dad said they were too dangerous and that was that.

Neither was I given toy guns as a child other than a toy flintlock pistol during the Davey Crocket show years. I was probably five or so.