4-year-old killed by celebratory bullet (in church with his mother)

ajc.com ^ | 1-1-10 | Alexis Stevens

[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."

[TigersEye]

but I will consider an overwelm ammount of eviendce that points to this likely occuring......

OK, where did the "overwelm ammount of eviendce" come from? It wasn't in this article.

... what would be the writers alterior motive for writing this? just for giggles?

From the Atlanta Journal Constipation? Are you kidding? How about a consistent far-left agenda that includes an anti-gun agenda? If you don't think they would use an incident like this to broadbrush all gun ownership then you aren't paying attention.

[TigersEye]

Does smartass pass for intelligence with you and your buds?
Not with me or mine most of whom are former Marines.

[Figment]

No, I’m sorry, it just doesn’t add up.

It only adds up when you get past the absurdity of it “falling” through the roof. The bullet was fired at fairly close proximity at a low angle

[ColdWater]

I'm guessing you don't know much about guns...and neither did whoever the idiot was that shot into the air. those bullets don't go off into never never land.

I guess you don't know much about guns...falling bullets will not penetrate a roof and then kill.

[meyer]

Sad to hear this.

For those that don’t already know, always, ALWAYS shoot celebratory shots into the ground.

[goat granny]

your dad was patrolling a really bad neighborhood, not as bad as todays standards but bad enough...Was born and raised in Detroit City..

[Americanwolf]

so I am to assume by your comment that both fox news and the associated press have the same agenda now that they are running the story.... just one big anti gun conspricy... right?!!

[eartrumpet]

“In order to fire directly at a roof you would have to be above it. If there are buildings nearby that are taller than the church it shouldn’t be difficult to determine where the shot came from. “

I went over to Google and took a look at the church. It has a fairly steep pitched roof, not flat, so a shot could easily hit the roof from nearby. I know I could stand in my driveway and hit my roof if I felt the need. Once the bullet makes contact with roof, a nail, screw, knot in board, anything, it can turn the bullet any direction.

[TigersEye]

You can assume anything you want. It seems to be your specialty. It’s no news to most FReepers that all major media outlets simply parrot the stories they find on the wire. That includes Fox News. The fact remains; this was a poorly written article not full of an “overwelm ammount of eviendce” and it originated in the AJC which is one of the most left biased publications with the lowest journalistic standards in the country.

[TigersEye]

I can see that possibility. The bullet would still lose a lot of kinetic energy after hitting the first object. The disturbing thing is it points more strongly, if it occurred that way, to an intentional shot taken at the church rather than a stray shot.

[Americanwolf]

you make assumption as well so we are both in the same boat... but as I told outlawwoman and others... it happens here in arizona all the time.... just because it comes from a paper you see as bias you are making the assumption that this not a legit story or it is being used to promote an agenda... yet if you go ask any paramedic, firefighter, cop, in most major metro areas... they will tell you incidents like this occur... you and other have your axe to grind for what ever reason... I am just trying to point out that there is some legitimacy to this story being true.. but you will think what you will...

[conservative cat]

Not just there it happens a lot here too. We are in SE Ohio and last night at midnight I heard them going off all over. I just said to Dh ;ast night that it would be awful to be sitting in your livingroom and be killed by a stray bullet.

We are in a suburb of Tacoma, WA, and never used to have it happen here, and last night we heard gunfire starting at 9:30pm. Our demographics have been changing the last five years, too.

[TigersEye]

I didn't assume anything at all. If you think I did then point to what it is.

If it is such a common occurrence then you should easily be able to find another account you can link to. It has to be a falling bullet fired into the air that then passes through a roof. That is the discussion here not simply stray bullets in general. I'll wait until you post it.

[Americanwolf]

all I had to do was look up celbratory gunfire in wikipedia.... not that hard... Notable incidents This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. December 1859: An autopsy showed that a native servant in India, who suddenly fell dead for no apparent reason, was mortally wounded from a bullet fired from a distance too far for the shot to be heard. The falling bullet had sufficient energy to pass through the victim's shoulder, a rib, a lung, his heart and his diaphragm.[17] January 1, 1996: A grandmother in Detroit named Sandra Latham was killed on New Year's Day from bullet from celebratory firing as she sat in her living room. December 31, 1994: A tourist from Boston was killed by a falling bullet from celebratory firing while walking on the Moonwalk in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Police Department there has been striving to educate the public on the danger since then, frequently making arrests for firing into the air.[18] July 22, 2003: More than 20 people were reported killed in Iraq from celebratory gunfire following the deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay in 2003.[16] December 31, 2004: A 75-year-old man in Orlando, Florida, was mortally wounded in the heart from a falling bullet just before midnight. Police later traced the fatal bullet to a gun confiscated from a man firing into the air more than a mile away. The shooter was charged with manslaughter.[19] January 1, 2005: A stray bullet hit a young girl during New Year celebrations in the central square of downtown Skopje, Macedonia. She died two days later. This incident led to the 2006 IANSA awareness campaign in that country.[1] December 28, 2005: A 23-year-old U.S. Army private on leave after basic training fired a 9 mm pistol into the air in celebration with friends, according to police, and one of the bullets came through a fifth-floor apartment window in the New York City borough of Queens, striking a 28-year-old mother of two in the eye. Her husband found her lifeless body moments later. The shooter had been drinking the night before and turned himself in to police the next morning when he heard the news. He was charged with second-degree manslaughter and weapons-related crimes,[20][21] and was later found guilty and sentenced to four to 12 years in prison.[22] February 25, 2007: Five people were killed by stray bullets fired at a kite festival in Lahore, Pakistan, including a 6-year-old schoolboy who was struck in the head near his home in the city's Mazang area.[23] July 29, 2007: At least four people were reported killed and 17 others wounded by celebratory gunfire in the capital city of Baghdad, Iraq, following the victory of the national football team in the AFC Asian Cup,[24][25] Celebratory gunfire occurred despite warnings issued by Iraqi security forces and the country's leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who forbade the gunfire with a religious fatwā.[26] Plus Shannon's law here in arizona that make celebratory gunfire a felony was enacted after a 14 year old girl was killed by a bullet fire into the air in 1999.

[Americanwolf]

all are incedents that were listed in wikipedia and you can go there for their source for each item... but then again what do a i know I guess I am just a no nothing simpleton.

[TigersEye]

Not a single one of those incidents says the bullet passed through a roof.

[Americanwolf]

January 1, 1996: A grandmother in Detroit named Sandra Latham was killed on New Year’s Day from bullet from celebratory firing as she sat in her living room..... she had an open air living room??!

[TigersEye]

She didn’t have any windows?

[Americanwolf]

wouldn’t glass slow it as much or change the bullets trajactory as much as wood or any other material???

[TigersEye]

No, definitely not. You may not have noticed but glass is quite fragile.