Posted on 01/01/2010 4:46:43 PM PST by rawhide
A 4-year-old boy attending a New Year's Eve church service with his family was killed when a stray bullet came through the roof, hitting him in the head.
The boy, Marquel Peters, was sitting beside his mother in the sanctuary during an intermission, said Lloyd Phipps, senior pastor at the Church of God of Prophecy near Decatur.
About 350 people were gathered in the DeKalb County church on Covington Drive, waiting for a concert to begin at 12:30 a.m. Friday, Phipps said.
"We heard a loud pop, which we now assume was when the bullet came through the roof," Phipps said.
The child, who had been playing a video game moments before the incident, fell to the floor.
"He appeared to be unconscious at first, and then he started crying," Phipps said.
Phipps said the church members prayed for the child, and continued with the planned concert, believing the child would survive his injury.
The child was rushed to a hospital, where he later died, according to Officer Jason Gagnon with DeKalb police.
The pastor and the parishioners where still in the church when they learned of the child's death about 3:30 a.m., Phipps said. He said during the concert, the boy's family kept him updated on the child's condition, which he believed was improving.
Investigators returned to the church later Friday, where they discovered the point of entry for the bullet: in the roof of the church. Phipps said police believe someone fired a celebratory shot into the air, and it went through the roof on its way down.
"It's one of those things that you just cannot make any sense out of," Phipps said. "This lady took her kid to church, which is the right thing to do. And her son got killed because of someone’s irresponsible behavior."
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
Why don't you explain to me just what does a bullet do when shot up into the air?
It goes up and when it slows, then it starts it's descent. That small piece of metal is going to now go through a roof, consisting of at least shingles and plywood (remember, this bullet is going ever slower as it has already been shot up in the air and is now falling down) and insulation and still have enough velocity behind it to get through all that and kill someone?
Something is not being reported correctly in this story
“Thanks to everyone for not tearing me a new one.”
I think the media used to have proof readers...
“There is no safe way to fire in the air when people are around. “
No argument here. That’s one of the reasons I stick to the local range with a big damned berm out just beyond 400 yards. My 03 Springfield is the only rifle I have that I can hit a target with at that range.
I don’t even like to go in the woods during hunting season. Too many horror stories about morons who don’t know gun safety.
Anyone who would tear you a new one is out of line. It was so badly written it did SEEM to say exactly what you thought. It’s sad what passes for journalism these days.
You're the kind of idiot who would pack 120 grains of 3Fg into a Hawkin Gun without a patch, to "flatten out the trajectory." (I moved down the line so the shrapnel wouldn't get me...)
You're the one who shoots himself in the kneecap practicing his fast draw, bought a Model 29 because Dirty Harry had one, or uses a ghetto hold with a Glock, "because a .45 kicks too much..." and actually believes what he sees on TV.
I can't fix stupid, tho, and you know just enough to be dangerous.
If you fire a gun and shoot the bullet up into the air, from the ground, the bullet will go up until it loses speed, then it will start it's descent and fall back down.
That means the bullet is now falling down with less velocity than if it had been fired straight at the church. I don't believe it can go through shingles, plywood, and insulation and still have enough velocity to kill someone by penetrating the skull.
It appears that, in addition to suffering from an over-inflated sense of self, spelling, elementary physics and rudimentary mathematics, all seem to be problem areas for you as well. It's not your fault. I blame the public schools.
It could have been short range direct fire, then a change in direction upon hitting the roof or a truss.
That’s the ticket
http://www.rifleshootermag.com/ballistics/ballistic-tables/
We can't argue with physics. At least we shouldn't.
“There are dozens of documented cases of falling bullets kiling and injuring. I had a hole punched through the hood of my car from a falling bullet
I call BS on both sentences
*high five* on that response!
Also, idiots who shoot guns into the air do it in an angle; not straight up
angle makes all the difference in the world. if the gun was fired at a low angle the bullet wasn’t “falling” at terminal velocity. it was a poorly written story as these type usually are.
“But a bullet still on its ballistic trajectory, still spinning, pointing forwards, is potentially deadly until it hits the ground.”
I considered that, It would still have a forward velocity if it weren’t falling straight down, however that velocity would have to equal less that the acceleration of gravity at the peak of it’s trajectory (by definition). Said forward velocity would erode on it’s downward path, while it’s downward would increase to it’s terminal velocity (about 40 feet per second). I question that there would be enough kinetic energy to penetrate a roof and kill even a child.
They never tested any angled shots.
angled shots were not the question being pondered. it’s pretty well known what level shots do. this was some idiot firing at a low angle, not a falling bullet.don’t get me wrong, firing blindly at any angle is stupid
You certainly flunked physics. If fired at 20 degrees off of vertical it could never hit a roof until it had expended all of its ballistic energy and simply fallen at terminal velocity.
It happens all the time, especially on New Year’s Eve.
I’ll pass your statement along to my buds in Alpha Brty, 1st Bn, 10th Marines. They will be gratified to know they have been doing it wrong since 1940...
I’ve seen many that are no more than some 1/4 inch plywood,
I’d like to see them roofing with 1/4 inch. Hope it was flat and not very high
A few years ago my husband was checking our roof and found a bullet embedded in the roof, probably from New Year’s celebration. We live near downtown Atlanta.
I have a bullet in a brick in the back of my house. It didn’t fall there though
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