A 9-year-old girl from western Pennsylvania certainly got the scare of her life at a Halloween party this weekend. The poor child was out in the yard in her costume when a male relative shot her! According to the police report, the shooter mistook the kid for a skunk.
Anyone else thinking that is one gigantic skunk? Or one abnormally small 9-year-old girl?
According to cops in New Sewickley Township, the 9-year-old was wearing a black costume with a black hat that had a white tassel. Which means we've got the right colors for a skunk. Then there's the fact that the shooting happened around 8:30 p.m. Considering skunks are nocturnal, that's about the time they'd come out of hiding to go find food. The dark of night also explains how someone might have distorted vision.
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But everything about this explanation stinks. What about the party that was going on? The children that were milling around?
The fact that someone had a gun at a Halloween party sets off some obvious red flags here. I live in a rural area where plenty of people have guns. But they generally don't cart them around to parties. And if the gun owner is throwing the party, you'd better believe they're locked up so someone else's kid doesn't get into them. It's called responsible gun ownership.
So I have to ask again: who brought a gun out at a Halloween party? A party where we know there was at least one kid?
And what kind of gun user actually fires his weapon without ascertaining what he's shooting at? Your average skunk is probably a fifth of the size of a 9-year-old girl (if that ... a sixth of a size? a seventh? Those buggers are pretty small!). That alone should have given this guy pause.
Fortunately the guy's aim was pretty bad -- the girl was shot in the shoulder. Rushed to the hospital, she's going to make it.
As for her relative though, who knows. Cops say he wasn't drinking, but they're still investigating.The district attorney's office is expected to get the case. Here's hoping they take a more careful look than this guy did at the so-called skunk, huh?
Do you think he should be charged? What do you think of the excuse for shooting this girl?
Image via GregTheBusker/Flickr
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Comments 28
I'm all for ownership of guns and all that stuff, but there is NO REASON to have a gun at a party. If it's that dangerous that you need to take a weapon then keep your ass at home where it's safe. Jeez!
Even if it were a skunk, whats the point of shooting it? They are harmless when left alone. If you shoot it then the whole yard will smell like a skunk.
I hope the child recovers well and the shooter faces the consequences.
Exactly, even if it was a skunk, why shoot it. Yes, this person needs to be charged with something.
This sounds like a bad episode of CSI. "Fur and Loathing in Las Vegas"anyone. "I thought it was a Coyote."