US deputy shoots boy carrying toy gun

[Frontpage]

US deputy shoots boy carrying toy gun
11th May 2009, 15:45 WST

A boy playing "cops and robbers" with a toy handgun has been shot and wounded by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, officials say.

The boy was shot on Sunday night in Palmdale, about 80km north of downtown Los Angeles.

Police Deputy Jeff Gordon said the boy was hospitalised in a stable condition and was expected to survive.

His age and identity were not immediately released.

Gordon said deputies were responding to reports that someone was riding a bicycle and brandishing a handgun. They spotted the rider and ordered him to drop the weapon but instead he pointed it at the deputies, Gordon said.

One deputy fired a shot and hit the boy in the upper body.
AP

Source (http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=572262)

[Clinotus]

There is a saying that stupid is as stupid does. While even we in the shooting community realize this is a no win situation, and despite the laws (Title 15: Commerce and Foreign Trade Federal Law (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=fe6593e6c18f07b9f6b29ffca8409aa9&rgn=div5&view=text&node=15:3.1.3.7.1&idno=15)), there are still people out there that will remove the safety tip and violate common sense laws which always seem to mete out a harsher penality than the lacking federal law for removing or altering the tip.

[Fang]

I've found that most laws started making a lot more sense when you imagine them being gestures instead of attempts to solve a problem.

[Clinotus]

I've found that most laws started making a lot more sense when you imagine them being gestures instead of attempts to solve a problem.

Good point, but do we really need to make the larger suggestion of not pointing things at people? Past a certain age I think most of our parents point this out to us (pardon the pun). Perhaps a new law stating one should not point objects at police officers, or perhaps a lawful suggestion stating its a wise idea to yield to an officers lawful commands.

Being that this did take place in California, I wonder how far off my sense of humor is from an actual law out there.


(No offense to you Cali guys/gals, MA isnt that far behind.)

[.45ACPLove]

if the kid was old enough to ride a bike without his parents watching then he knew enough from tv, movies and video games not to point a toy gun at a cop. granted we didn't witness it and don't know for sure if it was pointed at him or if the cop got jumpy seeing the kid with it.