Althouse: "[A] 16-year-old boy shot the arrow, saying he was shooting at a squirrel."

June 1, 2012

"[A] 16-year-old boy shot the arrow, saying he was shooting at a squirrel."

The sheriff said...

(Here's where we talked about the little girl's injury.)

18 comments:

ndspinelli said...: We need a ban on bows and arrows. Unless you're an Indian.; 6/1/12, 12:16 PM
MadisonMan said...: I'd love for him to come to my yard and shoot the squirrels that are eating my strawberries.; 6/1/12, 12:20 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: You really don't want to believe that anyone would shoot a little girl on purpose but that young man's got himself one piss-poor excuse.

I wonder if he's being raised by a single mother.; 6/1/12, 12:30 PM
kcom said...: But it's certainly the most likely scenario for how it happened. Boys shooting off arrows and screwing up is much more plausible than an intentional act.

Of course, it will depend on the boys.; 6/1/12, 12:40 PM
Daniel Fielding said...: The biy needs to get the maximum punishment, his age, his juvenile status be damned!!!! If he was irresponsible to shoot an arrow in a populated area, he should have the book thrown at him.; 6/1/12, 12:42 PM
bagoh20 said...: This is exactly the kind of danger your risk when allowing yourself to be distracted by squirrels.

BTW, where IS Garage Mahal?; 6/1/12, 12:49 PM
chickelit said...: Violation of Hunter Safety rule #4: Be sure of your target and what's beyond.; 6/1/12, 12:51 PM
chickelit said...: BTW, where IS Garage Mahal?

He's tweeting like it's 1992!; 6/1/12, 12:52 PM
edutcher said...: William Tell's legacy is safe.

Agree with those who say it's more likely a teenager acting goofy, but these days you never know.; 6/1/12, 1:06 PM
dbp said...: A good rule of thumb is to not take any shot unless you can see the ground behind your target. There are exceptions such as bird hunting with a shotgun.; 6/1/12, 1:49 PM
dbp said...: From that range, it is highly unlikely to have been an intentional act.; 6/1/12, 1:50 PM
traditionalguy said...: A boys' job description is to shoot things. And like a red tailed hawk, a boy will hunt squirrels instinctively.

And if this boy is also a Native American, even 1/32, then his DNA would overcome him when a bow and arrow and a squirrel came together at a fated point in time.

I blame the girl for getting in the way of his arrow.

OK, that argument needs work. But it's as good as most used in the culture wars of late.; 6/1/12, 1:52 PM
ndspinelli said...: chicklit must have taken the DNR Hunter Safety class when he was a Cheesehead. What do you hunt in SoCal, coyotes..or "coy dogs" as my Uncle Mike in Vermont calls them.; 6/1/12, 1:55 PM
chickelit said...: Nick, I took a HS course out here with my son so he could come back to your state and reap the bounty: link

I don't hunt.; 6/1/12, 2:25 PM
ndspinelli said...: chickelit, I don't hunt either. Although I have hunted hunters when I was doing surveillance. You have to be on your toes when you're hunting a man who is carrying a high powered rifle.; 6/1/12, 2:39 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Violation of Hunter Safety rule #4: Be sure of your target and what's beyond.

Absolutely!! It was a foolish accident caused by ignorance and a lack of training.

Normal teenage boy (and girl) stuff, but also on our modern, out of sight out of mind mentality. Just like those morons who shoot a bullet into the air. Do they think it just disappears after leaving the weapon?; 6/1/12, 3:43 PM
dbp said...: If you have an irresistible urge to hunt for things up in trees, or birds, with bow and arrow: Flu-flu arrows are the answer. They have special fletching that makes them decelerate quickly.; 6/1/12, 5:34 PM
wyo sis said...: The comments here illustrate one of the reasons the kid was afraid to come forward. Some people will want him dead, some will assume he did it on purpose, some will blame his parents, and some will assume it was a stupid foolish accident. The truth is probably somewhere in between. He did something stupid like kids do every so often. Usually nothing bad happens and eventually everyone grows up and becomes a responsible adult. It's hyper elevated in these days of instant internet fame and blame. I feel sorry for everyone involved.; 6/1/12, 7:57 PM