Police Seek camera shooter

Reuters, Yahoo News ^

[RC30]

Police Seek Camera Shooter

LONDON (Reuters) - Police hunted for a marksman with a grudge on Monday after two roadside speed cameras were shot to pieces in rural east England.

Norfolk police said a sniper, probably armed with a high-powered air rifle, riddled the cameras with pellets causing 70,000 pounds ($111,000) worth of damage.

The attacks happened days before a number of newly installed cameras were set to go live at accident black spots in the area.

"You often have to worry about the mentality of people who do this sort of thing," Bryan Edwards, spokesman for the Norfolk Casualty Reduction Partnership, was quoted as saying by the Eastern Daily Press.

Speed cameras, which photograph speeding motorists as they drive by and can lead to substantial fines, are controversial in Britain. But police would not say whether they believed a disgruntled motorist was behind the incidents.

[RC30]

Sounds like a good solution to Red Light & Speed cameras to me :-) I thought guns were illegal in the U.K?

[Joe Brower]

"You often have to worry about the mentality of people who do this sort of thing"

As one who believes in individual liberty, personal privacy, and limited government, I find myself much more concerned about the mentality of the statists who install these devices in the first place.

[poet]

"You often have to worry about the mentality of people who do this sort of thing,"

I wonder about the mentality of people who install the cameras!!

[zx2dragon]

"You often have to worry about the mentality of people who do this sort of thing,"

"That's not allowed here." What?" The cult of the individual." "He has revolted. Resisted. Fought. Held fast. Maintained. Destroyed resistence. Overcome coercion. The right to be person, someone or individual. We applaud his private war, and concede that despite materialistic efforts, he has survived intact and secure!"

[Blood of Tyrants]

Perhaps this is the first shots of the British reclaiming their freedoms.

[dd5339]

"Norfolk police said a sniper, probably armed with a high-powered air rifle, riddled the cameras with pellets causing 70,000 pounds ($111,000) worth of damage.

ROTFLMAO!

Semper Fi

[Pistolshot]

Norfolk police said a sniper, probably armed with a high-powered air rifle, riddled the cameras with pellets.....

Evidently, the moron who said this cannot distinguish between shotgun pellets and rifle bullets.

[battlecry]

Cool.

[wcbtinman]

Maybe the second shot heard round' the world.

[antidisestablishment]

Ah, there may be hope! Best news I have heard from the UK in a long time. LOL

[Skooz]

If I were in England, I would open my home as a type of "underground railroad" for camera shooters.

[ErnBatavia]

"Watson, get me a list of all convicted traffc violators"

[razorback-bert]

Wasn't me and my trusty "Red Ryder".

[mysterio]

Wonderful. The only good thing to happen in Britain since The Beatles.

[texson66]

Wow! Over $50 K per camera! The British government would likely want to catch as many speeders as soon as possible to turn the cameras into cash cows!

The Brits are also being legally proactive too at UK Speed Cameras

[jz638]

Careful Frankie, you'll shoot the Government's eye out.

[Seruzawa]

Considering the current state of the Brit's legal system expect life sentences for any children carrying slinshots within 1 mile of the scene of the crime.

[sheik yerbouty]

I sure hope so! they've been sliding down the slope of tyranny for many years.

[ibbryn]

I live in an area that's heavily tagged by gangs. They mark their territory with their gang signs, the storeowner/homeowner/govt paints it over, they retag. Its a never ending battle.

I've wondered before how hard it would be to get these gangsters to start tagging traffic cameras - right on the lens. These guys are vandalizing property anyway, its a point of pride with them. Wouldn't they love being able to say "There hasn't been a working traffic camera in our turf for 45 days in a row."

[newgeezer]

On a related note, don't miss Patrick Bedard's excellent column in the December issue of Car And Driver!