Women hit with .50 cal round in her RV

[SRJim]

....at TMS (Texas Motor Speedway) this weekend.

I'm not sure if this should go in Legal, it's not a legal issue yet, but has threads of legal issues running all through it.

I'm surprised this hasn't come up yet, especially since the husband has vowed to work to a ban on .50 being sold to consumers because of it.

http://cbs11tv.com/local/Jill.King.TMS.2.855534.html

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...178fbecde.html

....and text of a follow up after a guy came forward after hearing about it. He thinks, and LEA's believe he's right, that it was his round that may have ricocheted from the berm.



Benbrook man says his bullet may have hit woman at Texas Motor Speedway

03:55 PM CST on Tuesday, November 4, 2008

By DAN X. McGRAW / The Dallas Morning News

Fort Worth police are investigating reports from a 49-year-old Benbrook man who says he may be responsible for the stray bullet that hit an Arlington woman Sunday morning at Texas Motor Speedway.

Kennith Jaramillo contacted Fort Worth police on Monday after hearing that Jill King Moss, 62, was hit in her arm by a .50-caliber bullet that pierced the roof of her RV, authorities said. Ms. Moss was taken to Harris Methodist Hospital and is expected to recover from her injuries.

Given the bullet’s trajectory, Fort Worth police investigators believe the bullet came from a long distance away.

Mr. Jaramillo told police he was target shooting five miles away from Texas Motor Speedway between 10 and 11 a.m, said Lt. Paul Henderson, a Fort Worth police spokesman. Mr. Jaramillo fired five or six rounds at a berm, a mound of dirt, with his .50-caliber Vulcan single shot rifle.

Fort Worth police confiscated his weapon for ballistics tests. If tests confirm the bullet was fired from his weapon, Mr. Jaramillo could be charged with deadly conduct for recklessly firing a weapon, Lt. Henderson said.

Mr. Jaramillo has not been arrested or charged in the incident.

[BBQLS1]

Great another irresponsible idiot to screw things up for us.

[supertac45]

If anything, whoever designed the range screwed up. Rounds aren't suppossed to ricochet off of a berm. Why is the shooter responsible if the post is accurate?

[SGT.Cap]

Was it his range/berm?

[AZ Husker]

What if he was shooting at the berm, but went over?

[BillD]

I thought the article said the round came through the roof. Sounds like it went up at an angle. I suppose the shooter could have been at a much higher elevation.

[Big crush]

If anything, whoever designed the range screwed up. Rounds aren't suppossed to ricochet off of a berm. Why is the shooter responsible if the post is accurate?

From the article.

Mr. Jaramillo told police he was target shooting five miles away from Texas Motor Speedway between 10 and 11 a.m, said Lt. Paul Henderson, a Fort Worth police spokesman. Mr. Jaramillo fired five or six rounds at a berm, a mound of dirt, with his .50-caliber Vulcan single shot rifle.

No mention of a SHOOTING RANGE. IF HE LAUNCHED IT, HE OWNS IT PERIOD.

Not a very FORWARD thinker of a gun owner but most are NOT.

[Dangerous]

The news report in Dallas at the time of the shooting said that there was a range 3 or 4 miles away. I saw a photo on the news of the lady's sister-daughter-relative holding the bullet. It looked pretty pristine to me. Not deformed as from a richochet.

[ScooterJammer]

Sounds like Congresman Waxman's perfect example why the .50 Cal should be banned. He's been looking for an excuse. Mark my words, before this is said and done, these people will be the Poster Children for the Dems in Washington, DC.

[whitedevil32]

if it was shot unpourpose into the air it would have came down alittle harder than it problly did.

[ScooterJammer]

Big crush...

Not a very FORWARD thinker of a gun owner but most are NOT.

You know buddy, I got a real problem with your attitude! I happen to think gun owners and shooters are some of the most responsible, law abiding, and genuinely nice people I know. In any segment of society you can find some bad actors, and quite frankly, I'm not willing to convict the guy based on this one questionable 'news story'. If he did something boneheaded I'm sure he'll pay the price. The last thing gun owners need is some of our "own" piling-on.

If you really 'feel most are not', you should find another hobby. Maybe competitive double latte' drinking or something.

[Big crush]

If you really 'feel most are not', you should find another hobby. Maybe competitive double latte' drinking or something.

Why? I find it much easier (not to mention MUCH SAFER) to utilize private ranges and organized shooting events for personal skill improvement/tests.

Kind of like avoiding holiday weekend driving with the masses. Lord knows the masses spend lots more time behind the wheel of a vehicle than they do out "plinking" and manage to screw up the driving thing with some regularity.

[s4s4u]

She oughta buy a lottery ticket! What could be the odds?

[ridgerunner665]

To everyone calling him irresponsible...

There are MANY, MANY things that could have been a factor in the bullets trajectory...regardless of where it was aimed when he fired it.

And, most importantly, he did call the police and say "Hey, It might have been me that fired that round"...I suspect VERY few people have the backbone to do that...maybe he made a mistake, maybe it was not his fault, maybe it was...either way, he had the balls to fess up about it...that does count for something.

[BillD]

Years back, I wanted to watch what my .308 tracers would do out of an M14 type rifle.

I was shooting into a berm in Dec, snow on the ground, about 10pm at 300 yds.

Being able to watch what your bullet did was very enlightening. Some of them hit the berm and went straight up.

This was on a great club range, huge grass covered berms.

[Double Naught Spy]

Originally Posted by supertac45

If anything, whoever designed the range screwed up. Rounds aren't suppossed to ricochet off of a berm. Why is the shooter responsible if the post is accurate?

There is no mention of a ricochet. You have assumed the round wasn't inadvertently launched over his berm. I have seen such happen on more than one occasion with inexperienced shooters, people trying to sight in firearms from too far (such as when putting a new scope on a rifle and not having a clue as to potential POA vs. POI differences), and folks with their finger on the trigger before having the gun on target.

As for rounds "not supposed to ricochet off of a berm," well, it can and does happen. However, ricocheted rounds typically don't have much carry distance because they are destabilized. When they destabilize, they tumble in flight and this destroys their aerodynamics and hence their range is greatly reduced.

I thought the article said the round came through the roof. Sounds like it went up at an angle. I suppose the shooter could have been at a much higher elevation.

The area around Texas Motor Speedway is mostly flat. There are some low rolling hills, but not much in the way of significant elevation differences.

[Double Naught Spy]

http://cbs11tv.com/sports/Jill.King.TMS.2.857530.html

Man Says He May Have Shot, Injured Woman At TMS


Carol Cavazos
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 News) ― Fort Worth police have preliminary results from tests conducted on the gun believed to have fired the stray bullet that wounded a woman at the Texas Motor Speedway.

It matches the .50 caliber bullet recovered at the scene.

Tuesday, a 49-year-old Benbrook man came forward saying he's the one who may have fired the gun.

The victim, 62-year-old Jill King, remained in the hospital Wednesday night.

Her husband says the man who came forward called him.

"He is remorseful. He is beside himself, and I told him how appreciative I was that he had that kind of character and would come forward," said Mel Moss, King's husband.

Moss has launched a website telling his story and advocating a ban on sales of .50-caliber weapons to citizens: www.50caldanger.org

[MeekinIt]

"Gun experts say the military uses the weapon to take down aircraft, not people, and stands 5-feet tall. It weighs 40 pounds."

I don't know what kind of "experts" they interviewed, but I know for a fact at least the US and Canadian militarys use the .50 against personnel

[Flockmaster]

I realize it must hit home pretty hard when your wife gets hit by an errant .50cal, but for gods sake! He's already a gun ban advocate!! This is the one and only incident I have ever heard of wherein an errent or even aimed .50cal has ever it ANYONE outside of military use. I suppose if someone ran a stop sign and slammed into his wife he would want to ban cars?

[LoopyLenny]

Originally Posted by Flockmaster

I suppose if someone ran a stop sign and slammed into his wife he would want to ban cars?

Of course not, don't be ridiculous. The proper knee jerk reaction is to ban stop signs.

[DanMan68]

It is the same "ban it if some one gets hurt" idea.

[GovCheese]

Originally Posted by LoopyLenny

Of course not, don't be ridiculous. The proper knee jerk reaction is to ban stop signs.

C'mon, stop signs don't kill people, the post holding the stop sign kills people!

[jja327]

They should ban the cheesy website Moss put up. I came close to having a seizure.

The bullet looks looks as pristine as the one that killed President Kennedy. Ballistics tests on a similar round showed the FMJ can end up only slightly deformed even after going through a few feet of log.

[aircorpnut]

first of all, the website needs a proof reader. the spelling & grammar are pitiful. the funny thing is, if you click on the link in the right margin under "THERE IS A WEAPONS FRENZY OUT THERE AND WHO'S AT FAULT?" the article blames the dems, naming barney frank, chris dodd, schumer & even " THE 2 CLOWNS THAT THE MEDIA GAVE US FOR PRESIDENT". he must not understand he's blasting the guys on his side.

[Trailboss60]

Nov.3rd wife is shot.

Nov. 4th, man seeking 15 minutes of fame opens website asking for donations;
http://samspade.org/whois/axwnylu3lspxysevz63h5vy43a

Nov.5th shooter comes forward.


Nov 6th; reality should set in motivating kneejerk Moss to close website...