BB GUNS DO KILL

I was challenged by an anonymous poster on my comment that BB guns kill. The anonymous poster claimed FALSELY that BB guns don't kill. WRONG!!

Here's proof that BB guns kill.

Study: BB Guns Injure Thousands, Can Be Lethal

CHICAGO -- They are often thought of as toys, but BB guns and other nonpowder guns are sometimes lethal and injure as many as 21,000 Americans each year, according to a new report.

Nonpowder guns kill an average of four Americans yearly, and from 1990 to 2000, there were 39 such deaths -- 32 of children younger than 15, according to the report in November's issue of Pediatrics.

The report, published Monday, comes just two weeks after the BB gun death of an 8-year-old South Carolina boy accidentally killed by a 13-year-old friend. The pellet pierced the boy's heart, said Richland County coroner Gary Watts.

"These are not the kinds of BB guns that I grew up with," Watts said. Today's BB guns "are extremely high-powered," and some can shoot with a velocity nearly matching a .22-caliber rifle, Watts said.

These guns include powerful air rifles introduced in the 1970s and paintball pistols used in war games. They are sometimes described as fake guns and often given to children as gifts, but the report says they can cause internal injuries similar to those from bullets.

The gun involved in the Oct. 18 shooting was a present from the older boy's parents, who had hoped it would lift his spirits after his own brother's recent death in a car accident, Watts said.

Nationally, an estimated 21,840 injuries related to nonpowder guns were treated in emergency departments in 2000 -- most in children ages 5 to 14, according to the report prepared by the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention.

They don't kill, eh? Then why did an 8-year-old die when a pellet from the BB gun pierced his heart?

Here's more proof.

Consumer Product Safety Commission
BB Guns Can Kill

BB guns can kill a person. High-velocity BB guns, which have muzzle velocities higher than 350 feet per second, can increase this risk. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has reports of about 4 deaths per year caused by BB guns or pellet rifles.

Many people do not realize that BB guns, especially high-velocity guns, can cause death.

Therefore the CPSC warns that children under 16 years of age should not use high-velocity BB or pellet guns. And, like firearms, these guns should never be aimed at another person.

Yet more proof.

Infant Dies in Shooting

Los Angeles: A two-month-old infant was shot when her juvenile uncle negligently fired a gun Monday.

On June 25, 2007, around 5:30 p.m., the young man was sitting on his porch fumbling with a pellet rifle. His sister, who was carrying his two-month old niece, walked toward him when the pellet gun discharged and struck the baby. Two-month-old Melody Rojas died from her injuries at 3:55 a.m. today.

The suspect was taken into custody and booked into Eastlake Juvenile Hall for murder. The pellet rifle was recovered from the family residence located in the 100 block of East 31st Street in Los Angeles.

More proof!!

Boston won't use pellet guns blamed in fan's death

BOSTON -- The Boston Police Department is getting rid of the pepper-pellet guns blamed for the death of a college student during Red Sox celebrations more than two years ago.

"Never. They'll never again be used in the city of Boston," police Commissioner Edward Davis told the Boston Herald for Thursday's editions.

The department's 13 pellet guns, bought before the 2004 Democratic National Convention, will be melted down and recycled into sewer caps.

The weapons, designed to deliver non-lethal force, haven't been used since Oct. 21, 2004 when Emerson College student Victoria Snelgrove died hours after being struck in the left eye with a pellet fired by police.

Snelgrove's death, which occurred as thousands of people celebrated the Red Sox's American League Championship Series Game 7 victory over the New York Yankees, was the only time the weapons were used by Boston police. Two other revelers were struck in the head and survived.

Davis decided they weren't fit for the department. The weapons were "much more powerful than what they were perceived to be," he said.

The department will use horse patrols or pepper spray foggers for future crowd control issues, Davis said.

Boston paid a $5.1 million settlement to Snelgrove's parents. The Snelgroves also reached an undisclosed settlement with the gun's manufacturer.

Do you still want to argue with me that pellet guns, aka BB guns don't kill? I could go on all day with proof that BB guns, pellet guns, or whatever the hell you want to call them can and DO KILL PEOPLE.