Man fires gun, wrecks fireworks stash (or Happy July 4!)

 
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agate
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Joined: 17 May 2006
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Location: Oregon

PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 7:47 pm    Post subject: Man fires gun, wrecks fireworks stash (or Happy July 4!) Reply with quote

I get upset about fireworks. I get upset about the gun-happy country I live in. An article in today's Oregonian is one reason why:

Quote:
by Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times

(Bainbridge Island, WA) The Grand Old Fourth celebration is always a big deal in this small island community near Seattle, featuring ...the annual fireworks show over Eagle Harbor--a show that this year, nine days before the big event, went up in smoke.

Literally. Fireworks for Bainbridge Island's Fourth of July show... were packed, organized and stored ready to go in a container at an auto wrecking yard a few miles away. Then, authorities say, the operator of the wrecking yard decided to go outside and try out his new rifle.

..."One of the shots hit a junk car in his yard and must've ricocheted and struck the (container) that contained $80,000 worth of fireworks. Well, within about a second the box contained no explosives," said Ron Krell of Viking Fest Inc.... "It exploded, and we had the greatest fireworks show you ever would have wanted not to see."

Residents a mile away from the Belfair, WA, wrecking yard reported hearing the resulting explosion last week. When it was over, only a smoking crater and the charred hulk of the container--which was propelled about 20 feet--marked the spot where everybody's Fourth of July plans used to be.

...
"He readily admits it. He knew the container was there, he knew the container contained fireworks, he accepts responsibility. But we don't think the insurance will cover it because it happened on business property and shooting a gun at 1 in the morning has nothing whatever to do with his business of auto wrecking--though he did wreck some autos," Krell said.

...
Officials in Mason County said they were continuing an investigation, but [Jeremy Hicks, investigator for the fire department] said it did not initially appear that any laws were broken.

"The owner of the junkyard, can he fire a weapon on his own property?" he said. "Yes, I don't think that's illegal."
[Emphasis added.]

Just my opinion: Too many dimwits around for gun ownership to be safe.
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