Teenage girl accused of shooting dead a friend after he asked her to try out his bulletproof vest

Daily Mail Online ^ | May 14, 2014 | Snejana Farberov

[Teotwawki]

A South Carolina teenager was charged with involuntary manslaughter after police say she fired a shot at a friend in a bulletproof vest, but missed the Kevlar and struck him in the heart. Anderson County Sheriff's Lt. Shelia Cole said Blake Wardell, 26, found an old flak jacket early Wednesday morning in Greenville, put it on and asked 18-year-old Taylor Kelly to shoot him. Kelly fired a single round from a small-caliber handgun at the vest, but just missed.

[Chode]

if it was a flack jacket, it was never designed to stop a bullet in the first place, so how did BULLETPROOF get in the headline??? BIG difference between a bullet and shrapnel

[bigbob]

Darwin was an optimist

[GeronL]

Headline fail, again?

Remember that reporters are often the most uninformed people in our society

[GeronL]

dang

[Enterprise]

"Dang"

Dang me, dang me
They otta take a rope and hang me
Hang me from the highest tree
Oh honey take a shot at me

[onedoug]

Southern gothic romance down in Greenville. Though it starts so sadly.

[mabarker1]

so how did BULLETPROOF get in the headline???

The same way All guns are AK-47 chambered in 12GA 3.5" 76.2 X 3900 + 5400 Magnum Cop Killer Armor Piercing Incendiary Depleted Uranium Nuclear Tipped Hollow Point.

[Chode]

100%

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

A South Carolina teenager was charged with involuntary manslaughter after police say she fired a shot at a friend in a bulletproof vest, but missed the Kevlar and struck him in the heart.

Pardon?

The point of a bullet resistant vest is that it protects your torso where your heart is. Was his located somewhere unusual?

[Eagles6]

If it was an old Vietnam era flak jacket,as I suspect, it is not a bulletproof vest to begin with. That plus degradation of kevlar due to age.

[Disambiguator]

The same way All guns are AK-47 chambered in 12GA 3.5" 76.2 X 3900 + 5400 Magnum Cop Killer Armor Piercing Incendiary Depleted Uranium Nuclear Tipped Hollow Point.

The shelves are filled with those, but I can't find any .22 LR.

[VeniVidiVici]

Yeah, I’m guessing it was an old flak jacket and the writer of the article just called it “kevlar”.

[ExCTCitizen]

Would she jump off a bridge if he did?

[gaijin]

Flak jackets stop flak —SORT OF. They don’t stop bullets.

“bullet proof jackets” also generally don’t stop rifle bullets and they rarely stop arrows, bolts, or knives.

[Pollster1]

The point of a bullet resistant vest is that it protects your torso where your heart is. Was his located somewhere unusual?

I suspect he didn't correctly adjust the straps (if she missed the jacket as reported). I don't think the condition of the Kevlar matters (if it was in fact Kevlar as reported), nor does the difference between bullet resistant and a flak jacket (if it was in fact a flak jacket as reported). The shooter apparently has some firearms "experience"; I can't imagine how a shooter with this technique missed (or perhaps she didn't want to hit the jacket?):

No person involved in this story, including journalists, looks competent to do anything.

[catbertz]

"Just tells me the man WAS a real moron."
"The victim’s family told deputies that Wardell had a history of mental illness"

If the girl obeys a guy with a history of mental problems, when he says "go ahead and shoot me!", then she's not too well adjusted either. Both dead in the brain..one more so than the other at this point.

[shibumi]

Flak jackets can also serve to hold some of the pieces together while you’re waiting for the Medics.

[Enterprise]

Lack of knowledge can be painful. The force of the round hitting a vest has caused a lot officers, who survived, to have a bruised sternum or broken ribs.

[BenLurkin]

Is that her?

Oh my!

[mabarker1]

I got like 60 rounds of .22LR and don’t even have a firearm for them.

I figure I’ll hold out till they are selling for $5-6 a round;)