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tenderfoot

(8,424 posts)
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 02:42 PM Dec 2019

Man killed by booby trap rigged in his own home on Thanksgiving, police say

A man was shot to death on Thanksgiving night by a booby trap device he had apparently rigged in his home, officials say.

The deceased, identified by police as 65-year-old Ronald Cyr of Van Buren, Maine, called 911 after he was shot by his self-made home security device and was taken to a hospital, Van Buren Police said in a Friday news release.

“Regretfully, Mr. Cyr succumbed to the injuries sustained from the gunshot,” Van Buren Police said.

<snip>

Investigators at the scene later saw the booby trap themselves when they discovered Cyr’s front door was rigged with a device “designed to fire a handgun should anyone attempt to enter the door,” according to the statement. Police reportedly found other “unknown devices” in Cyr’s home that prompted police to call the Maine State Police Bomb Squad.

Van Buren, a predominantly rural town in northern Maine 320 miles from Portland, sits along the St. John River directly across the U.S.-Canada border and includes a land-based port of entry.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/01/ronald-cyr-booby-trap-death/

52 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Man killed by booby trap rigged in his own home on Thanksgiving, police say (Original Post) tenderfoot Dec 2019 OP
Good news! Cartoonist Dec 2019 #1
Excellent point about first responder. . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Dec 2019 #45
people who get their ideas on home defense from cartoons really shouldn't be allowed to own guns Takket Dec 2019 #2
I know I shouldn't laugh but... Hassin Bin Sober Dec 2019 #4
yeah. sorry for the family (if in fact there is one), but ... stopdiggin Dec 2019 #10
Well, I guess none of the family (if they exist) was coming to his house for Thanksgiving. LisaL Dec 2019 #15
it's ok CatWoman Dec 2019 #13
What's wrong with the Acme Home Defense System. 3Hotdogs Dec 2019 #24
Ahhh...the pitfalls of having one's own security systems. All it takes is one time, one... SWBTATTReg Dec 2019 #3
that booby trap could have killed ANYONE. the UPS person, the mail carrier, a relative Demovictory9 Dec 2019 #5
Yeah, I know. As you said, ... SWBTATTReg Dec 2019 #6
An ambulance crew responding to a heart attack call. Anyone at all. appleannie1 Dec 2019 #22
Or people responding to him being shot by his own booby trap. LisaL Dec 2019 #52
Slow but sure thinning of the herd HAB911 Dec 2019 #7
The Darwin Award, thinning the shallow end of the gene pool RainCaster Dec 2019 #8
He was already aged out of the gene pool. Codeine Dec 2019 #19
Foolproof. dchill Dec 2019 #9
I can't help but think... Happy Hoosier Dec 2019 #11
It's amazing how many people live in fear. And now not this guy anymore. UniteFightBack Dec 2019 #12
Fucking moron Flaleftist Dec 2019 #14
I'm betting that's one less Trump voter. Vinca Dec 2019 #16
My first though and rural Maine is filled with them. appleannie1 Dec 2019 #25
Bet he's a fux noise viewer not fooled Dec 2019 #17
Kinda like being "hoisted by one's own petard" in a way. MineralMan Dec 2019 #18
Paranoia moreland01 Dec 2019 #20
Darwin award nt Richard D Dec 2019 #21
I wouldn't go to that house if I was invited. Initech Dec 2019 #23
What I find a bit puzzling is that PoindexterOglethorpe Dec 2019 #26
We don't know if he went outside and came back inside. LisaL Dec 2019 #29
The article, at least what I can read PoindexterOglethorpe Dec 2019 #32
A friend who lives in a rural part of Maine tells me there's not much to do for entertainment... LudwigPastorius Dec 2019 #30
What a Rube (Goldberg, that is)! LudwigPastorius Dec 2019 #27
New meaning to hoisted on your own petard. paleotn Dec 2019 #28
Its backwoods Maine. It was about the early '70's. 3Hotdogs Dec 2019 #31
He got out of jail DENVERPOPS Dec 2019 #41
This sounds like one of those devices rigged up in the roadrunner cartoons... CTyankee Dec 2019 #33
This guy was smarter... tonedevil Dec 2019 #34
Maybe DENVERPOPS Dec 2019 #35
I'm certain there was no alcohol (or more) involved. ToxMarz Dec 2019 #36
Evolution in action? bluescribbler Dec 2019 #37
Darwin Award nominee? sakabatou Dec 2019 #38
Definitely DENVERPOPS Dec 2019 #39
Police reportedly found other "unknown devices" in Cyr's home ....lucky no one else was hurt after lunasun Dec 2019 #40
Even if it HAD shot an intruder, he would have been arrested. oldsoftie Dec 2019 #42
In law school we studied the case of a farmer who rigged something similar Mr. Ected Dec 2019 #43
Exercising the 2nd, he can't even plead the 5th bucolic_frolic Dec 2019 #44
Same thing happened a year ago! Its not the same guy is it? LiberalLovinLug Dec 2019 #46
No, that sign was posted by a group of residents near Shelby, NC... KY_EnviroGuy Dec 2019 #49
In law school we studied a similar case, except the person shot was the alleged robber. LastLiberal in PalmSprings Dec 2019 #47
This may be the one you're thinking about from 1967 in Iowa... KY_EnviroGuy Dec 2019 #50
Hey folks -America gets international publicity for this kind of shit. KY_EnviroGuy Dec 2019 #48
2 years ago, my husband found out that a former Air Force colleague... 3catwoman3 Dec 2019 #51

LisaL

(44,962 posts)
15. Well, I guess none of the family (if they exist) was coming to his house for Thanksgiving.
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 03:58 PM
Dec 2019

Considering he rigged the trap to shoot anyone to come through the door, I am assuming he didn't expect any invited guests.

SWBTATTReg

(21,859 posts)
3. Ahhh...the pitfalls of having one's own security systems. All it takes is one time, one...
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 02:52 PM
Dec 2019

malfunction, one misstep and BOOM. No time for regrets, no time for anything. The shame about this whole thing is that he was so afraid of being broken into, because of robbery and heaven forbid, being harmed, for material processions that for the most part, can be replaced and/or covered by insurance. Now it is all gone, and moot.

Shaking my head. How sad.

Demovictory9

(32,324 posts)
5. that booby trap could have killed ANYONE. the UPS person, the mail carrier, a relative
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 02:58 PM
Dec 2019

police coming to do a check,

SWBTATTReg

(21,859 posts)
6. Yeah, I know. As you said, ...
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 03:04 PM
Dec 2019

imagine what would happen in case of a fire (or like you say, UPS, relatives, police, etc.)...what a mess and danger.

I always wondered what goes through someone's mind when they do stuff/set up stuff (traps etc.) like this? Are they that paranoid of society as a whole to do this or did they get severely beaten up, or what? I have heard of stuff in the past being done (like this, setting traps etc.), but good grief.

LisaL

(44,962 posts)
52. Or people responding to him being shot by his own booby trap.
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 11:08 PM
Dec 2019

Apparently he had a number of such traps in his home. Good thing no one else was shot.

 

Codeine

(25,586 posts)
19. He was already aged out of the gene pool.
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 04:14 PM
Dec 2019

It did remove a long-term financial burden on the taxpayers, however.

Happy Hoosier

(7,083 posts)
11. I can't help but think...
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 03:50 PM
Dec 2019

... that if you live in unwarranted fear of being a victim of violence, you are reasonably likely to bring it on yourself in some way.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,752 posts)
26. What I find a bit puzzling is that
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 04:28 PM
Dec 2019

he apparently went outside, then came back in through the door that he'd booby-trapped. How could he possibly forget that?

LisaL

(44,962 posts)
29. We don't know if he went outside and came back inside.
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 04:31 PM
Dec 2019

Reportedly he had these devices throughout his home. He could have been shot by the internal device.

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,752 posts)
32. The article, at least what I can read
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 04:36 PM
Dec 2019

given the Washington Post is behind a pay wall, only mentions the one at the front door.

LudwigPastorius

(8,944 posts)
30. A friend who lives in a rural part of Maine tells me there's not much to do for entertainment...
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 04:31 PM
Dec 2019

there except drink.

paleotn

(17,781 posts)
28. New meaning to hoisted on your own petard.
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 04:30 PM
Dec 2019

Wile E. Coyote style.

My condolences to the family. They'd probably agree their relative was an idiot.

3Hotdogs

(12,210 posts)
31. Its backwoods Maine. It was about the early '70's.
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 04:32 PM
Dec 2019

Friend and his wife bought a small piece of land about 50 miles north of Bangor. It was near where the towns have township numbers instead of names. They were living in a tent while they were building a small A-frame.

One day some asshole shows up and pulls a shotgun on Greg and has Nancy tie him to a tree. Whereupon the asshole shoots Greg. Not fatally.

Then he drives into town and tells the local authorities, "I took care of those hippies for us.

Yes, he was convicted.

DENVERPOPS

(8,679 posts)
41. He got out of jail
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 05:22 PM
Dec 2019

and immediately started campaigning and voting for Susan Collins..........

This gives us a glimmer of what we are up against today.

DENVERPOPS

(8,679 posts)
35. Maybe
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 04:53 PM
Dec 2019

Maybe he feared all the mass "invasion" of the U.S. by illegal Canadian immigrants sneaking into his country.

Booby traps are illegal in homes or businesses........the reason being, that if the jerks home had caught fire and the firefighters took down the door to gain entry his booby trap would have killed one of them.......Same with Police investigating a burglar, or paramedics answering his call for medical help......

Get a dog, alarm company stickers, camera's or whatever. Interviewing burglars in jail, they all said the same thing. If there are cameras, alarm stickers, or especially a dog we don't need the potential hassle and we go to another place that doesn't have any of those things......

bluescribbler

(2,105 posts)
37. Evolution in action?
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 05:05 PM
Dec 2019

Unfortunately, it's probably too late to prevent his genes from migrating into the gene pool.

lunasun

(21,646 posts)
40. Police reportedly found other "unknown devices" in Cyr's home ....lucky no one else was hurt after
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 05:17 PM
Dec 2019

the shooting

oldsoftie

(12,410 posts)
42. Even if it HAD shot an intruder, he would have been arrested.
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 05:26 PM
Dec 2019

Everyone should know by now that you cant do that shit; even if its your property. Its illegal. YOU have to shoot the intruder; you cant rig the house to do it

Mr. Ected

(9,670 posts)
43. In law school we studied the case of a farmer who rigged something similar
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 05:31 PM
Dec 2019

After a series of break-ins into his home.

Sure enough, a trespasser attempted entry into the home and his leg was blown off.

Trespasser sued farmer. Farmer lost. Farmer lost his farm to the trespasser.

Welcome to America, where stupid people do stupid things and miracles happen.

KY_EnviroGuy

(14,483 posts)
49. No, that sign was posted by a group of residents near Shelby, NC...
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 07:58 PM
Dec 2019

which is in Cleveland County, best I can tell. I think this is the story shown on that banner form October, 2018:

https://www.shelbystar.com/zz/news/20181016/north-carolina-man-shot-in-arm-after-triggering-his-own-booby-trap

The story in the OP is from Maine, near a town right on the Canadian border.

KY.....

47. In law school we studied a similar case, except the person shot was the alleged robber.
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 05:53 PM
Dec 2019

The owner of a remote cabin, tired of break-ins, rigged a similar device using a shotgun. The criminal survived and brought a civil action against the owner and won, because the owner was not protecting himself, and the device was clearly meant to kill anyone who opened the door.

In this current case, Cyr lived long enough to realize he had made a mistake, and that things don't always work as planned.

And he became another entry in the annual Darwin Awards contest.

Remember kids, guns don't kill people, people who do stupid things kill people, often themselves.

KY_EnviroGuy

(14,483 posts)
50. This may be the one you're thinking about from 1967 in Iowa...
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 08:17 PM
Dec 2019

Ran across this on YouTube by accident a few months back......

The Case of The Shotgun Booby Trap

See:



Summary from Wikipedia:
Bertha Briney inherited an old farmhouse in Mahaska County, Iowa, which the Brineys had left vacant for the last ten years prior to the incident. They had the house boarded up and placed "No Trespassing" signs around the property. The house was in poor condition and was subject to frequent burglaries and break-ins. To defend the house against intruders, Edward Briney mounted a 20-gauge spring-loaded shotgun in the farmhouse and rigged it to fire when the north bedroom door was opened. The gun was aimed downward so as to shoot an intruder's legs, rather than cause a mortal injury. Briney also covered the bedroom window with steel. A month later, on July 16, 1967, Katko entered the farmhouse with the intent of stealing some old bottles and dated fruit jars that Katko considered antiques. He was aware of their presence because he and a friend had broken into the house two weeks earlier. When Katko entered the bedroom, he tripped the trigger mechanism and the shotgun fired into his legs at point blank range. The gunshot wounds were sufficiently severe to require hospitalization, and Katko sued the Brineys after his release from the hospital.


KY...........

KY_EnviroGuy

(14,483 posts)
48. Hey folks -America gets international publicity for this kind of shit.
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 07:36 PM
Dec 2019
Maine man dies after being shot by own booby trap at home
Ronald Cyr, 65, died from ‘device designed to fire a handgun should anyone attempt to enter the door’, police say

See: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/01/maine-man-booby-trap-home-dies

(snips)
Two people reached by the Guardian, who said they were family members, claimed their brother’s home had long been targeted by burglars and voiced frustration toward authorities.

Mark and Lorraine, who identified themselves as two of Ronald’s siblings, said Ronald had long complained that items such as tools and car painting supplies had gone missing. They alleged that Ronald Cyr complained to authorities, but police treated him “like he was senile”, Mark claimed. The police department could not be reached for additional comment.

He was afraid,” Mark said. “The cops wouldn’t do nothing so he took matters [into his own hands.” The pair said Ronald had tried using fences and security cameras to protect his home, but he eventually turned to traps a few years ago. “We were not in favor of him doing that because he wasn’t used to guns – really, that was not his forte – but he was so frustrated,” Lorraine said.

Another family ruined, all due to a desperate reaction to petty theft by heartless assholes.

KY...........

3catwoman3

(23,820 posts)
51. 2 years ago, my husband found out that a former Air Force colleague...
Sun Dec 1, 2019, 10:20 PM
Dec 2019

...and sort-of friend kept a gun in every room of his house - even the bathrooms.

He dies about a year ago. We saw his wife in October, and she told of donating his guns to her son-in-law and grandson. As the garage was being cleared out, it turned out he had 11,000 rounds of ammunition! I find that horrifying.

After learning about all the guns, my husband had commented, “If I weren’t already his friend, I wouldn’t be his friend now.”

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