Suprise! Birthday Boy Shoots Six Accidentally

August 19, 2003 3:51 PM

Man Shoots Six at His Surprise Party He intended to play a joke on them with his shotgun and ended up nearly killing six of them because he tripped (with his finger on the trigger of his Mossberg pump, sorry, had a Coolio moment there). I would have thought the Swedes would have already disarmed their populance by now but apparently not.
posted by fenriq (37 comments total)

The party was cancelled.

I love the deadpan drollery in articles like this.
posted by GriffX at 3:59 PM on August 19, 2003

The swedes did disarm. These are Norwegians we are talking about.
posted by blindcarboncopy at 4:00 PM on August 19, 2003

Note to self: Never surprise a Norwegian.
posted by elwoodwiles at 4:02 PM on August 19, 2003

GriffX it was canceled, not cancelled. I love when people quote stuff and use alternative spellings.

Personally this is my biggest reason for being against guns: morons. You don't play practical jokes with things that can kill people if your finger slips.

I always wonder if NRA visionaries dream about a world where we each carry around a remote control for a nuclear device, just in case we get in a bind. It'll be even more fun that way; if you trip or go temporarily insane, the whole world can die, not just the people throwing your surprise party. I'm sure the pharmaceutical companies will make even more money on their anti-anxiety fixes, then.
posted by zekinskia at 4:12 PM on August 19, 2003

This is why they don't need to outlaw guns. Just ammunition.
posted by TeamBilly at 4:15 PM on August 19, 2003

[/Chris Rock]
posted by dhoyt at 4:25 PM on August 19, 2003

Guns don't kill people, bullets do.
posted by elwoodwiles at 4:44 PM on August 19, 2003

he tripped and the gun went off again, badly hurting one woman in the legs and slightly injuring five others.

I don't know much about guns -- can this happen? You trip in such a way that your finger keeps pulling the trigger?
posted by JanetLand at 4:57 PM on August 19, 2003

zekinskia: Total deterrence.
posted by Eloquence at 5:09 PM on August 19, 2003

Of late, Metafilter doth seem
Farkian in the extreme
Members everywhere team
And repeat meme after meme after meme
posted by drinkcoffee at 5:20 PM on August 19, 2003

On second thought...maybe it's that kind of week. Raging Connecticut Brides, Bacon Head, Elevator Decapitation, etc.

Sheesh, I need a break from the Net.
posted by drinkcoffee at 5:25 PM on August 19, 2003

But were they surprised?
posted by dg at 5:33 PM on August 19, 2003

JanetLand - it was a shotgun, a single shell contains lots of little pelletts (shot) which can hit several targets as they project out.
posted by bhorling at 5:39 PM on August 19, 2003

Tsk, tsk. The guy could have tried something else to surprise everyone. How about a Canadian redneck party - my sis-in-law arrived at her home on her fortieth birthday to find 40 bras hanging from the clothesline. A friend of hers had collected them from the rest of her friends, telling everyone, "The bigger and tackier the better." No one had to go to the hospital. No guns involved. Slingshots maybe, but no guns.
posted by orange swan at 6:54 PM on August 19, 2003

Y'know, MetaFilter and sleep deprivation don't mix.
posted by orange swan at 6:54 PM on August 19, 2003

God. I usually see these stories about stupid gun owners and join the usual "wow, ain't he dumb" antics, but I just got sad reading this. What a horrible, depressing scenario.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 7:42 PM on August 19, 2003

Where were all the people demanding that we take cars away from everyone when that old man killed a dozen people in a street market?
posted by jammer at 8:29 PM on August 19, 2003

zekinskia, cancelled is perfectly acceptable. No, GriffX didn't copy n' paste, but he didn't use an incorrect spelling either.
posted by madman at 8:55 PM on August 19, 2003

jammer, no one should ever be allowed to hurt anyone. Everything that might cause harm should be taken away, leaving the human population floating, naked, in a featureless void, without light, sound, color or sensation. Every so often two people would chance to touch, and spell out in sign language against each other's bodies, "Have you been hurt?" "No! Have you been hurt?" "No!"

Then they would drift apart again, spinning through the gentle void forever.

drinkcoffee, it's August. The Silly Season. Expect more of this. Personally, I enjoyed the Raging Bride. I think MeFi should have more stories about Raging Brides.
posted by Slithy_Tove at 9:22 PM on August 19, 2003

Where were all the people demanding that we take cars away from everyone when that old man killed a dozen people in a street market?

Guns are manufactured to cause harm, actively or defensively, and otherwise used for sport. Cars are manufactured for the practical purpose of hauling our carcasses around town. I don't think see how the arguement really applies.
posted by dhoyt at 10:05 PM on August 19, 2003

I don't think see how...
posted by dhoyt at 10:07 PM on August 19, 2003

Gun control begins not with registration or the Second Amendment but with range safety.
posted by alumshubby at 10:52 PM on August 19, 2003

Agreed. This is why gun safety ought to be taught in schools where the stalls on the ranges have doors that lock from the outside (because we know what teenagers are like, and yes that IS a fair generalization/stereotype).

Without the 2nd Amendment the government has no reason to fear its citizenry and preserve the other freedoms. Guns can be manufactured by individuals with time and some good tools. Likewise bullets can be manufactured far more easily.

Much like nuclear weapons - the genie is out of the bottle and we can't put it back in by wishing really hard. Guns aren't going away, ever, as long as the idea persists and it will always persist. Outlawing it will only make it worse - the UK's sharply rising violent crime rates are proof positive of this.

Switzerland's Japanesque levels of homicide (barring suicide, in both nations) demonstrate that it is possible to live peacefully with guns when a huge percentage of the citizens have easy access to fully automatic weapons every day. It takes careful implementation (regular checks that the sealed ammo cases have not been opened), good education, and as much restriction to the adult populace as humanly possible but it can be done. And because of the predatory nature of an unchecked government it ought to be done.
posted by Ryvar at 12:39 AM on August 20, 2003

so what does the second amendment of the norwegian constitution say then, I am very impressed.
posted by johnnyboy at 1:35 AM on August 20, 2003

gun crime in the UK

obviously all of the guns used in recorded gun crime were legally owned.
posted by johnnyboy at 1:39 AM on August 20, 2003

He violated the major rules of gun safety: All guns are loaded, keep your finger off the trigger, do not point the gun at anything you don't wish to destroy.

Had he actually followed all of that, no one would have been hurt, blame the moron, not the weapon.
posted by SuzySmith at 3:09 AM on August 20, 2003

And because of the predatory nature of an unchecked government it ought to be done.

Good luck prevailing where Saddam failed.

(Additionally, in Switzerland, it is the government who owns the weapons, not the people. Don't mix apples and oranges)


Outlawing it will only make it worse - the UK's sharply rising violent crime rates are proof positive of this.

I'm absolutely certain that the USA's crime figures are the envy of the world.


blame the moron, not the weapon.

I blame hose who want to put weapons in the hands of morons, which is what inevitablty happens when you allow everyone to have guns. Or do you think gun rights are only for non-moronic people? Any implementation plans?
posted by magullo at 4:22 AM on August 20, 2003

"Hose"??? Does Velvet P. Jones figure in all this somehow?

Gun rights are also for non-moronic governments.

As a proud if somewhat ersatz redneck, I've seen more than my share of moronic behavior associated with firearms. Proper training is a good antidote to utter stupidity.

I'm absolutely certain that if we all run out of ammo tomorrow, American culture is such that we'd be pistol-whipping and butt-stroking one another with those empty firearms anyhow. (OK, everybody start sniggering at "butt-stroking...)
posted by alumshubby at 7:12 AM on August 20, 2003

Where were all the people demanding that we take cars away from everyone when that old man killed a dozen people in a street market?

Your comment is highly original and wasn't already proven to be ridiculous years ago.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 7:33 AM on August 20, 2003

Proper training is a good antidote to utter stupidity

You mean training will stop NRA bigwigs from saying "we were handling it safely, except that it was loaded" ?
posted by magullo at 7:49 AM on August 20, 2003

Switzerland's...levels of homicide...demonstrate that it is possible to live peacefully with guns when a huge percentage of the citizens have easy access to fully automatic weapons every day.

I'm very relieved to hear this, because every night I go to bed just wishing and hoping and praying that I'll wake up and everybody will have unfettered access to automatic weapons. Why, it would be a dream come true!
posted by goethean at 8:04 AM on August 20, 2003

blame the moron, not the weapon.

Yes, but we can at least try to get rid of the weapons. Morons will always be with us.
posted by boomchicka at 8:23 AM on August 20, 2003

Ryvar, that idea interferes with my right *NOT* to learn anything I choose.

As a libertarian advocate, I support ownership of guns (at one point I didn't). However, as my protest against idiots blowing themselves up with them, I *REFUSE* to learn to use a gun. I have no need to kill others. It's a non-violent protest by me, and directly affects only me. I suppose it's in response to the whole "Don't like guns? Don't use them!" attitude I get off some gun owners.

If I were forced to learn to use a gun in school, my right to protest guns in this manner is revoked. I don't like that.
posted by shepd at 10:10 AM on August 20, 2003

Weapons will also always be with us. Maybe we should start by trying to get rid of the morons.
posted by majcher at 10:19 AM on August 20, 2003

*skammer meg på vegne av Norge*

Fark has at least one story from Aftenposten's (Norwegian newspaper) English edition every day and until today, I'd always been secretly relieved that they never showed up on Metafilter.

Well. It was a good run while it lasted.
posted by widdershins at 10:26 AM on August 20, 2003

I thought Coolio was dead, whatever happened to the man?
posted by Sijeka at 11:19 AM on August 20, 2003

Re: Oslo in Sweden -----DOH! Thanks BCC! I shall hang my head in shame (ooh a penny!)

I can see the ad now.

Mossberg pump shotgun: $975
Box of 2.75" buckshot shells: $25
Surpise Birthday Cake: $32

Seeing the look of surprise turn to pain and terror on your friends faces when you accidentally shoot your friends who are throwing you a surprise party: Priceless.

What was the movie where the guy ran out of a bank with a shotgun, tripped and blew his own head off? That was good movie humor!
posted by fenriq at 1:12 PM on August 20, 2003