Dumbass Award

[BMT (RIP)]

The following mind-boggling attempt at a crime spree in

Washington USA appeared to be the robber's first (and last), due to his lack of a previous record of violence, and his terminally stupid choices:

1. His target was H&J Leather & Firearms, A gun shop specializing in handguns.

2. The shop was full of customers - firearms customers.

3. To enter the shop, the robber had to step around a marked police patrol car parked at the front door.

4. A uniformed officer was standing at the counter, having coffee before work. Upon seeing the officer, the would-be robber announced a hold-up, and fired a few wild shots from a .22 target pistol. The officer and a clerk promptly returned fire, the police officer with a 9mm Glock 17, the clerk with a .50 Desert Eagle, assisted by several customers who also drew their guns, several of whom also fired, The robber was pronounced dead at the scene by Paramedics. Crime scene investigators located 47 expended cartridge cases in the shop. The subsequent autopsy revealed 23 gunshot wounds. Ballistics identified rounds from 7 different weapons. No one else was hurt in the exchange of fire Here we are at the beginning of March and we already may have the 2005 winner of the Darwin Award. This guy is going to be hard to beat.

:lifter

BMT

[lksteve]

Crime scene investigators located 47 expended cartridge cases in the shop. The subsequent autopsy revealed 23 gunshot wounds. Ballistics identified rounds from 7 different weapons.

wonder where the other 24 rounds went?

[JMH85]

hole in hole accuracy on some :munchin

JMH85

[NousDefionsDoc]

Not likely.

Thanks BMT

[PFC11B]

I googled the gun shop where this event took place. This story has been used in several "Darwin Awards". The earliest I have seen is 1998, this may be an urban legend.

http://www.bluehaze.com.au/humour/1999_02_12.html

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hills/9579/darwin76.html

[BMT (RIP)]

Does it hurt if you roll it out and step on it real HARD??

:D

BMT

[lksteve]

Does it hurt if you roll it out and step on it real HARD??



you running track or rolling logs? spiked shoes hurt the worst... ;)

[aricbcool]

According to the darwin awards site, it's true. But it took place in 1990.

--Aric

http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1993-06.html

1990 Darwin Award Nominee
Confirmed True by Darwin
3 February 1990, Washington


The following mind-boggling attempt at a crime spree appeared to be the robber's first, due to his lack of a previous record of violence, and his terminally stupid choices:

1. His target was H&J Leather & Firearms. A gun shop.

2. The shop was full of customers - firearms customers.

3. To enter the shop, the robber had to step around a marked police patrol car parked at the front door.

4. A uniformed officer was standing at the counter, having coffee before work.

Upon seeing the officer, the would-be robber announced a holdup, and fired a few wild shots. The officer and a clerk promptly returned fire, covered by several customers who also drew their guns, thereby removing the confused criminal from the gene pool.

No one else was hurt.

[BMT (RIP)]

Then it happened before PS.com was on the net. :lifter

BMT

[AngelsSix]

Okay, I finally found it.....Here ya' go!!


Business: Sunday, February 04, 1990

Man Killed In Robbery Attempt

Don Duncan, Christy Scattarella

A would-be robber who was shot in a battle with a King County police officer and a clerk at a Renton Highlands gun shop died last night at a Seattle hospital, police said.

David Zaback, 33, of Renton died about 8:15 p.m. at Harborview Medical Center, Renton police said. No one else was injured.

Hospital officials said Zaback had been operated on for gunshot wounds to the chest.

Renton police Capt. Don Persson said the on-duty officer and the clerk both opened fire on Zaback as he tried to rob H&J Leather & Firearms Ltd., 4047 N.E. Sunset Blvd., about 4:40 p.m. ``after the suspect fired first.''

Police declined to identify the officer involved.

It had not been determined whether Zaback was hit by shots from the officer's gun, the clerk's gun, or both, Persson said from the

gun shop as he investigated the incident.

The store was full of customers when the shooting happened, Persson said. He said the police officer, whom he described as a veteran, had gone into the store to ``pick something up.''

``The surprising thing is that the man had to walk right past a marked police car to get in the front door,'' Persson said. He said the suspect announced his intent to rob the store, spied the police officer and opened fire.

Dale Freeberg, an X-ray technician and freelance photographer, said he walked into the gun shop about 5 p.m. and ``saw a pool of blood just inside the front door.'' He said officers told him to leave immediately.

After the shooting, the suspect's weapon, a small-caliber semi-automatic handgun, lay beside a stack of videotapes, including one titled ``Assault Rifles and Machine Guns.'' Blood pooled near the front door about two feet from the gun.

Renton and King County police are investigating jointly.

The incident is the third in King County in less than three months in which an officer has shot someone while on duty.

On Dec. 14, Auburn police officer Robert Michnick shot and killed an unarmed burglary suspect. Samuel Johnson of Tacoma, who was shot in the back of the neck, and another man had led police on a chase. Michnick was fired two weeks later and a police shooting review board determined he had violated departmental guidelines. An inquest into Johnson's death begins tomorrow in Aukeen District Court in Kent.

On Jan. 11, Seattle police Officer Tom Bacon returned fire on a man in Holly Park who had shot him in the abdomen. Bacon was questioning Pedro Angulo when the man shot him at point-blank range with a .45-caliber pistol. Angulo, who was shot in the shoulder, has pleaded not guilty to attempted first-degree murder.

[AngelsSix]

And here's the kicker:

Outdoors: Thursday, May 10, 1990

Inquest: Officer Didn't Fire Fatal Shot -- Jury Rules In Slaying Of Gunman In Renton

Christy Scattarella

RENTON - An inquest jury deliberated only 35 minutes yesterday before finding that a King County police officer had reason to believe he was in danger when he shot a Renton man during a holdup in February.

The Renton District Court jury also ruled 5-1 that Officer Timothy Lally did not fire the shot that killed David Zaback, 33. Both Lally and a store clerk fired at Zaback.

``It's unfortunate that it (the shooting) happened, but I can't complain about the outcome,'' said Lally, 49, a patrol officer in the Maple Valley precinct and an 18-year veteran of the force.

Zaback's family did not attend the inquest. The dead man's brother, Dan Zaback of Bellevue, said in a telephone interview, ``We accept the decision.''

He added that his brother had been under a psychiatrist's care.

On the afternoon of Feb. 3, Zaback, brandishing a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol, entered H & J Leather & Firearms Ltd. in Renton, according to police.

``He took a shooting stance and said, `The gun is loaded. I have a round in the chamber, and I will shoot,' '' testified store owner Wendall Woodall, who was standing just inside the front door. ``He said it twice.''

Zaback then ordered those inside - including Lally, who was in uniform and had stopped by to have coffee with Woodall before going on duty, - to place their hands on the gun counter, Woodall said.

Danny Morris, a clerk at the store, said he stepped behind a file cabinet, pulled out his 10mm semiautomatic pistol and remained out of sight while Zaback held his gun on the customers.

Lally said he moved behind another file cabinet, raised his 9mm semiautomatic pistol and ordered Zaback to drop the gun.

Exactly what happened next is uncertain.

Morris said he fired first after Zaback turned his gun toward Lally. ``I was sure he was going to shoot Officer Lally, and I fired three times,'' Morris testified.

Lally said it was Zaback who fired first. ``He turned toward me and fired a shot. I fired back at him,'' Lally said. The officer's gun then misfired and he crouched while trying to fix it.

Zaback, who had fired three times, was shot three times in the chest and once in the arm. He died a few hours later at Harborview Medical Center. A bullet in Zaback's spine most likely was the one that killed him, said King County Medical Examiner Donald Reay. That bullet came from Morris' gun, said Frank Lee, a Washington State Crime Laboratory ballistics expert.

Inquest juries do not determine guilt or innocence, but the King County prosecutor will consider the jury's decision in deciding whether to file charges against Lally or Morris, said Deputy Prosecutor

Kyle Aiken.

-- Times staff reporter Anita Cal contributed to this report.

[Trip_Wire (RIP)]

And here's the kicker:

Outdoors: Thursday, May 10, 1990

Inquest: Officer Didn't Fire Fatal Shot -- Jury Rules In Slaying Of Gunman In Renton

Christy Scattarella

RENTON - An inquest jury deliberated only 35 minutes yesterday before finding that a King County police officer had reason to believe he was in danger when he shot a Renton man during a holdup in February.

The Renton District Court jury also ruled 5-1 that Officer Timothy Lally did not fire the shot that killed David Zaback, 33. Both Lally and a store clerk fired at Zaback.

``It's unfortunate that it (the shooting) happened, but I can't complain about the outcome,'' said Lally, 49, a patrol officer in the Maple Valley precinct and an 18-year veteran of the force.

Zaback's family did not attend the inquest. The dead man's brother, Dan Zaback of Bellevue, said in a telephone interview, ``We accept the decision.''

He added that his brother had been under a psychiatrist's care.

On the afternoon of Feb. 3, Zaback, brandishing a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol, entered H & J Leather & Firearms Ltd. in Renton, according to police.

``He took a shooting stance and said, `The gun is loaded. I have a round in the chamber, and I will shoot,' '' testified store owner Wendall Woodall, who was standing just inside the front door. ``He said it twice.''

Zaback then ordered those inside - including Lally, who was in uniform and had stopped by to have coffee with Woodall before going on duty, - to place their hands on the gun counter, Woodall said.

Danny Morris, a clerk at the store, said he stepped behind a file cabinet, pulled out his 10mm semiautomatic pistol and remained out of sight while Zaback held his gun on the customers.

Lally said he moved behind another file cabinet, raised his 9mm semiautomatic pistol and ordered Zaback to drop the gun.

Exactly what happened next is uncertain.

Morris said he fired first after Zaback turned his gun toward Lally. ``I was sure he was going to shoot Officer Lally, and I fired three times,'' Morris testified.

Lally said it was Zaback who fired first. ``He turned toward me and fired a shot. I fired back at him,'' Lally said. The officer's gun then misfired and he crouched while trying to fix it.

Zaback, who had fired three times, was shot three times in the chest and once in the arm. He died a few hours later at Harborview Medical Center. A bullet in Zaback's spine most likely was the one that killed him, said King County Medical Examiner Donald Reay. That bullet came from Morris' gun, said Frank Lee, a Washington State Crime Laboratory ballistics expert.

Inquest juries do not determine guilt or innocence, but the King County prosecutor will consider the jury's decision in deciding whether to file charges against Lally or Morris, said Deputy Prosecutor

Kyle Aiken.

-- Times staff reporter Anita Cal contributed to this report.

Officer Lally is a friend of mine. I see him all the time at our retired officers meetings, I was strange to read this report once again, as we were both on active duty when it happened. Lally is retired now. I think the guy with the 10MM was using winchester silver tip JHPs. The first shooting with 10 MM in this area.

[Trip_Wire (RIP)]

I googled the gun shop where this event took place. This story has been used in several "Darwin Awards". The earliest I have seen is 1998, this may be an urban legend.

http://www.bluehaze.com.au/humour/1999_02_12.html

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hills/9579/darwin76.html

I can vouch for the story! It happened just the way it is written here! I was on the same department and Off. Lally worked for me at the time. We are both retired now. ;)

[AngelsSix]

What amazes me is the fact that someone would actually pull a stunt like that without thinking "I am going to get my ass killed here". Every time I walk into Jims I look in the windows and take a look at what is going on before I enter the door. Not surprisingly, whoever is closest to the door will always look and see who is coming in as they enter. Most everyone of the guys there packs heat. Not to mention the types of guys that visit the range would not have a problem taking out someone dumb enough to come in and announce a stickup.

[rubberneck]

What amazes me is the fact that someone would actually pull a stunt like that without thinking "I am going to get my ass killed here".

One of the sotry said that the guy was on meds for mental problems. I am sure it never occured to him it was a bad idea. Heck he probably thought he was superman.

Now this clown is a different story all together....

SEMINOLE, Fla. -- A man was arrested after trying to steal a weapon from a gun shop so he could "take some action and rescue Terri Schiavo," authorities said.

Michael W. Mitchell, of Rockford, Ill., entered Randall's Firearms Inc. in Seminole just before 6 p.m. Thursday with a box cutter and tried to steal a gun, said Marianne Pasha, a spokeswoman for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Mitchell, 50, told deputies he wanted to "take some action and rescue Terri Schiavo" after he visited the Pinellas Park hospice where she lives, Pasha said.

The feeding tube that has kept Schiavo alive for more than a decade was removed March 18 over objections from her parents. Schiavo's husband has said his wife would not want to be kept alive artificially.

Doctors have said she would probably die within a week or two of the tube being pulled.

Randy McKenzie, the owner of Randall's Firearms, said Mitchell pulled out the box cutter and broke the glass on a couple of display cases.

"He told me if I wasn't on Terri's side then I wasn't on God's side, either," McKenzie told The Associated Press.

McKenzie said he then pointed his own gun at Mitchell and ordered him to lie on the ground. But Mitchell fled out the store's back door before police arrived, he said.

Mitchell was later arrested in a parking lot and was scheduled to appear in court Friday. He was being held on $125,000 bond on charges of attempted armed robbery, aggravated assault and criminal mischief, officials said.

It was not known if he had a lawyer.

Seminole is about 5 miles west of Pinellas Park.