This Makes Me Angry

[Mikee Loxxer]

Teen accused of firing AK-47 in city
By the Lincoln Journal Star
Monday, Jan 29, 2007 - 08:47:46 am CST
Police got about 20 calls Sunday about a weapon being fired near 30th and Q at about 10:30 p.m.

Officers found spent casings in the area and then 18-year-old Nathan Casteel at a home nearby, Capt. Jim Thoms said.

Thoms said Casteel, of 342 S. 29th St., said he’d had a disagreement with a family member and went outside to fire the AK-47 into the air to relieve some stress. Police believe he fired 20 to 30 rounds. They weren’t believed to have caused any damage. Police cited Casteel on suspicion of unlawful discharge of a firearm in city limits.

 

[wingnutx]

I hope they charge him once per round.

 

[JesseL]

Which part bothers you?

Are you angered by:

• The young man that may have done something stupid/dangerous.
• The police that arrested him on suspicion of doing something dangerous, when no evidence of damage exists.
• The incorrect use of the term 'AK-47' for what is probably a semi-automatic rifle derived from the Kalashnikov pattern, or even an SKS.
• The waste of ammo.

 

[wingnutx]

The gross negligence?

 

[JesseL]

The gross negligence?

Probably. But it is possible that he was merely being obnoxious rather than negligent. He may have been firing blanks or firing into a suitable bullet trap. Innocent until proven guilty and all that, dontchaknow.

 

[B.D. Turner]

The title of this story should be:

"Stupid people should not own guns"

"Blowing of steam with an AK"

"Bustin Caps"

"Happiness is a warm assault weapon"<----gunshow sticker

"I am the NRA"

"Honestly officer I was shooting at a UFO"

 

[El Tejon]

How about "Foxworthy was right! Not all Rednecks in South"

Geez, what is it about these people and shooting guns in the air. In my LE daze I had one empty his CKC in his bedroom because "his boss was a jerk at work today." It hit his 3 year old daughter in the top of head and made an ugly mess on the opposite side of the wall he ventilated.

Had another one who was upset of his bad life choices empty an AR-15 into a nieghbor's RV "cause I was so mad."

Some people should not have guns, and some people should not have oxygen.

A jump rope and a heavy bag are much healthier ways of dealing with stress.

 

[Mikee Loxxer]

What really makes me angry about it is that he is giving the anti-gun crowd ammunition. Some kid who clearly is not mature enough to possess firearms is helping those who would like to outlaw ours.

Also it is apparent that this idiot does not have proper respect for firearms as demonstrated by firing 20-30 rounds in a heavily populated area, this isn’t the Middle East. What comes up must come down and if he was not firing at a 90 degree angle there is a strong likelihood that some of the projectiles (assuming he was not using blanks) could have had enough energy to cause some damage. I would bet he was not using blanks either.

Misstating the type of rifle is also annoying as it very well could have been an SKS or some type of semi-auto Kalashnikov. But then again it seems like a lot of High Roaders consistently refer to their Kalashnikov rifles as “AK’s” when they are clearly not Avtomat Kalashnikovs.

 

[JesseL]

People finds all kinds of things to use in stupid ways. Nobody will ever succeed in stopping them.

What we need is to eliminate the mentality that sees people doing stupid things and wants to punish the people that didn't do it.

Even if there is a 99% correlation between between a tool and criminal behavior, it's no excuse for infringing my right to own and use that tool.

Worrying about "giving the anti-gun crowd ammunition" just validates their mentality and sets us up for a battle we can't win.

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

Is this kid related to Stephen Jackson???

 

[Fosbery]

He hasn't been found guilty. He's been arrested. I'm pretty certain the police had probable cause to arrest him e.g. witness reports. They couldn't possibly has just happened to stumble into the home of the guy who happened to be the 'one that dunnit'.

Yes I think firing into the air, if that is what he did, is gross negligence and he should be charged accordingly.

On the other hand, I'm happy that he chose to discharge his rifle into the air, and not into somebody else.

 

[El Tejon]

Fosbery, he was likely given a citation, like a traffic ticket, for a city code violation. No crime involved. He could either pay the fine or set it for hearing.

Some Western and Southern states arrest (take you to jail) for mere infractions. Up north they would give you a ticket and a court date.

 

[fattsgalore]

Now, if the young man fired the rounds into the ground would you all still be upset?

 

[El Tejon]

As long as he was following Rule #4 and shooting where it was zoned as okey-dokey, not at all.

 

[Fosbery]

Yep, no problem with people shooting their gun so long as its safe - and so long as they're not causing undue disturbance to people e.g. shooting long into the night when living next door to a family with a young baby.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

18-year-old Nathan Casteel

Ah, yes.

Another fine product of modern education.

Just do what feels good, Dude. It's all about your self esteem.

 

[Zrex]

Just to play devil's advocate here...

Who exactly was the victim in this "crime"? Was there any property damage? Was anyone hurt?

 

[nhhillbilly]

Zrez, Anyone around when the rounds came to the ground. Also all neighbors being woken up at 10:30PM when they have to work the next day. I assume this is Lincoln Ne. A large city.

 

[sterling180]

That kid was totally and utterly stupid and should definately serve some time ,in a correctional facitity,for disturbing the peace-but his family and others in his community,should be thankful,that he didn't snap like that whacko Micheal"Rambo" Ryan,or like Patrick Purdy,because both of these men,went on killing sprees,with AK47s and killed lots of people.

Both examples of the accounts of those two monsters are gold standard arguments, against assault weapons,for anti-gunners,everywhere.Sad really.

Its nice to know that that kid refrained from killing with an "assault weapon",which would certainly attract a vast amount of national and international media coverage-then the Purdy incident and possibly the Hungerford incident,would be dug up and re-examined-again.

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

Its nice to know that that kid refrained from killing with an "assault weapon"

Its also nice to know that he didn't kill anyone...Assault weapon or not.

 

[bclark1]

+1 JesseL

People don't want to ban cars because underagers steal and crash them. We need to help control the reaction, as the action is unforeseeable in a free society.

Criminal charges don't require a victim, either, just action in violation of a law.

 

[sterling180]

Its also nice to know that he didn't kill anyone...Assault weapon or not.

I only meant about,the media coverage and the social predjudices against semi-auto weapons,that exist,everywhere.After all,a gun is a gun and any gun can kill-but others seem to single out assault weapons,because they are considered too unnessecary.

 

[MikePGS]

Are you sure the gun didn't jump out of the house by itself and start firing into the air angrily?

 

[ithacalover]

I think he shouldn't be let off easy - if I had been next door I might have spilled my drink!
Kidding aside, now one has ever been CALMED by sudden nighttime bursts of semi-automatic gunfire coming from outside their house. That the kid didn't think far enough ahead to realize he'd get in trouble for doing what he did shows his immaturity. So what if no one got hurt? I can try to punch a screwdriver through an airplane window; just because the plane didn't crash doesn't make it right.
Sometimes life means setting an example for others.

 

[MachIVshooter]

He may have been firing blanks or firing into a suitable bullet trap

Blanks are very easily identified, and will not properly cycle the action without an adapter. I doubt he manually chambered 20-30 cartridges if he was "relieving stress".

There is no such thing as a "suitable bullet trap" when you discharge a firearm outdoors within city limits. Doesn't matter where the bullets go if it's unlawful to discharge the firearm. I can't think of a single modern city that doesn't have such an ordinance.

If this kid did in fact fire in excess of 20 rounds into the air in an urban area, he should definitely be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Could very easily have hurt/killed someone. Despite "Mythbusters" findings, falling bullets can and have killed people.