Teen dies after game of Russian Roulette

[cigsandcoffee]

Not particularly clever.


http://www.wtsp.com/news/reporter/article/261884/79/Largo-teen-dies-after-game-of-Russian-Roulette

LARGO, Florida - A Largo teen has died from his injuries after shooting himself while playing Russian Roulette.

Pinellas County Sheriff's detectives say 17-year-old Thorin Montgomery and three teenaged friends were on the back porch of his house along 111th Way North in Largo Friday night, playing with a .38 caliber revolver.

Thorin was the first of his friends to have a turn when the gun fired, shooting him in the head.

He was airlifted to Bayfront Medical Center where he later died.

[morningfog]

1. That's how the game ends. Idiot kids.

[G26]

2. Odd choice of words:

"Thorin was the first of his friends to have a turn when the gun fired, shooting him in the head."

Since the gun is an inanimate object, I suspect this is actually what happened:

Thorin was the first of his friends to have a turn. He pointed the loaded gun at his own head, pulled the trigger, and killed himself.

And when a young person commits suicide, it isn't because they are an idiot, but because they can't see the value in continuing to live.

[unblock]

5. normally i'm a stickler for this sort of thing, but

yes, he pulled the trigger, so active voice would be appropriate to describe that action.

however, the gun firing was a random chance based on where the loaded chamber was.
so passive voice in describing the gun actually firing instead of merely clicking over to the next chamber isn't unreasonable.

thorin's actions are described by "first ... to have a turn".

of course, best would be something like "thorin pulled the trigger and the gun fired".

[samsingh]

28. the best thing would be if there wasn't a readily available gun to be used as a game toy

my condolences to the families

[Life Long Dem]

36. And if they didn't have a roof to jump off of...

Lets face it. Idiots are just that. Idiots.

[me b zola]

60. You say that with all of the compassion and empathy

of a conservative

[Life Long Dem]

61. We have the right to bear arms

A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government. — George Washington

Your not trying to disarm people, are you? Disarming people falls into the ideology of fascism.

[samsingh]

64. no it is not fascism

it's a point of view. so why the name calling?

[PavePusher]

66. Evolution is a cold thing.

So is reality.

[2on2u]

41. A bow and arrow would be a better tool to use..... there would be little doubt as to whether

it was a win win situation.

[alcibiades_mystery]

56. "the gun fired"

is not a passive voice construction, grammatically. It is an active voice construction that places "the gun" in the subject slot.

A passive voice construction in this case would be "he pulled the trigger and was shot." That is, however, probably the correct way to describe the incident, and your analysis is correct. Passive voice is a specific kind of grammatical construction. It is not a matter of interpretation (lending the boy or the gun agency).

[unblock]

57. you're right, i used the wrong terminology.

[drm604]

9. "The gun fired" is a common phrase like "the car started" or "the plane took off".

Nobody takes it to mean that the gun acted of it's own volition. Nobody thinks that the gun is not an inanimate object. We hardly need to have that explained to us.

[G26]

13. The reason I point this out isn't because

I think anyone misunderstands the facts. I point this out because I think the wording was deliberate, rather than just an example of poor, passive-voice writing. I suspect that the writer wants readers to demonize the gun, and to ignore the more important question of why it is that young people commit suicide, and how to prevent more in the future.

Why would they do this? Possibly, they think that eliminating guns is the best way to curb teen suicide. I disagree. Possibly they just hate guns. In that case, I still disagree.

[spanone]

14. you read an awful lot into grammer...and guns do kill

[FarCenter]

23. Guns don't kill; Bullets kill.

(OK, you can kill someone with a rifle butt or by pistol whipping, but thats not the usual case.)

[Life Long Dem]

37. Roofs kill

[samsingh]

65. everyone should have the right to carry a nuclear bomb as long as it fits inside a gun

[4th law of robotics]

26. In this case I think it was done intentionally

if Mr. X were to stab Mr. Y to death would it be "Mr Y. died today after an altercation with a knife" or "Mr. X murdered Mr. Y with a knife"

[drm604]

19. I assumed that's why you did it. Which is why I responded the way I did.

Your reaction struck me as knee-jerk. There is nothing in that phrasing that implies a desire for the elimination of guns. There just isn't. It's a common way of phrasing things. Anyone who sees it otherwise is looking for an argument.

[Scootaloo]

25. "Dead kid? Guess I better DEFEND GUNS! WOLVERIIIIIINES!"

Way to keep what's important front and center, buddy.

[samsingh]

29. if there was no gun to play with the boy woudn't have pulled the trigger.

[Kingofalldems]

46. I think the fact that Obama has not tried to take away guns

Is evidence that he plans to in the future.

In short, he's a gun grabber.

[HangOnKids]

49. I Believe You Are On To Something!

How have you been?

[Kingofalldems]

50. Great thanks!

Hope all is well with you.

BTW, looks like another one has arrived.

[Tejas]

54. Another amateur strawman of yours.

Plenty of folks that disdain and even more that would ban guns in the Gungeon. Even here in this thread there are those that think only cowards need guns.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

59. The gunners say guns don't kill....

..... unless they are trying to pin the rap on Obama and Holder. Only THEN do guns kill.

[slackmaster]

15. Passive voice, a way of diffusing responsibility

And when a young person commits suicide, it isn't because they are an idiot, but because they can't see the value in continuing to live.

That's true of anyone who commits suicide.

[samsingh]

31. he didn't commit suicide. For whatever reason, the kids were playing around with a readily available

gun and ended up shooting himself.

[slackmaster]

34. A 17-year-old would have to be pretty ignorant to do something like that without knowing...

...that it was dangerous.

[snooper2]

58. That's why it's called a darwin award...7 Billion people on this planet

nature still works

[4th law of robotics]

24. The gun acted on it's own

that's why there is a warrant out for it's arrest in this murder.

[unblock]

3. are "friends" who "play" this game charged with anything?

something like negligent homicide, at least?

[G26]

4. If a group of kids were willing to kill themselves,

I don't see how charging them with a crime is any kind of solution.

[unblock]

8. unclear they were willing to kill themselves.

sounds like the others never got their "turn" and so it's not clear they would have gone through with it, not clear that they were ever sincere. for all we know they were just trying to goad the victim into doing it. maybe, had the first chamber been empty, they would have just said, "dude, i can't believe you actually did that! we were joking!"

in any event, being suicidal is hardly a defense. in fact, being suicidal is good justification for getting them into "the system".

[closeupready]

6. Teenagers have always behaved like immortals.

If I had a dollar for everyone on this board who did something dangerous and stupid as a teenager, I'd have about $150,000.

Very sad, condolences to his loved ones.

[hobbit709]

7. "Stupidity is the only universal capital crime.

And sentence is carried out immediately with no hope of appeal."

[Blue_Tires]

10. for the love of god, WHY?

[greytdemocrat]

12. Natural selection. n/t

[FarCenter]

27. Not even creative enough to make the Darwin Awards.

[bluedigger]

11. He had the best odds, too.

The risk/reward definitely wasn't in his favor, though.

[slackmaster]

16. Yes, at least he used a revolver instead of a magazine-fed semiautomatic

I don't believe risk and reward had anything to do with it. This was a suicide.

[bluedigger]

17. How would you play Russian roulette with a semi-auto?

Not much of a chance with one of those.

[slackmaster]

18. The game wouldn't last very long

Not to make light of a suicide.

[bluedigger]

20. I'd feel bad if there was a motive known.

Like a terminal illness, for example. But this just sounds like teens playing with guns, with predictable results.

[slackmaster]

30. I do believe that basic gun safety should be taught in public schools because too many adults aren't

...competent to teach the basics to their kids, but I think a 17-year-old knows that guns are dangerous. Unless he's really stupid.

[bluedigger]

33. He knew what he was doing and the possible consequences.

A 10 year old shooting themselves is a tragedy, not a 17 year old. Anybody who can legally operate a motor vehicle on a public road is more than competent to understand firearms.

[HERVEPA]

35. Probably not. On two counts.

1. Generally the cylinder is spun each time.
2. If not, each person has about the same odds, assuming they are only "playing" until one is dead.

[bluedigger]

38. Good points.

I haven't studied probability since Fifth Grade, and I can't remember the last time I played...

[budkin]

21. You play Russian Roulette you pretty much deserve to die. Moron.

[4th law of robotics]

22. Well . . . duh.

[Ship of Fools]

32. Scrubbing the gene pool.

[veganlush]

39. guns are for

cowards.

[Tejas]

51. So, police officers are cowards?

[Selatius]

62. Only those who abuse the power of the badge to oppress fellow citizens. nt

[4th law of robotics]

53. You really can't complain here:

the gene pool is measurably better as a result of this.

[Marengo]

55. I'm sure these fellows would certainly agree...

[IMG][/IMG]

[madinmaryland]

40. A nominee for a Darwin Award.

[SidDithers]

42. The Deer Hunter...nt

Sid

[Raine]

44. Darwinism in action. nt

[Proles]

45. I played Russian Roulette once...

with a Nerf gun. It hurt.

[Honeycombe8]

47. This is partly why there's a shortage of men, I guess. nt

[Tom Ripley]

48. Shouldn't the headline read "Teen dies after losing game of Russian Roulette"?

[Kalidurga]

52. Yeah

sounds more accurate. I think the others playing should be charged. I am not even sure if I care if it will do any good or not. They do need to be held accountable for their actions and they do need to know that even if no one had died, what they did is not a game.

[WillParkinson]

63. My sympathies to his family...

May they find some peace.