Posted on 03/24/2006 12:04:47 PM PST by Supernatural
A worker at a Downtown steam plant who brought a pellet rifle to work to shoot pigeons was mistaken for a sniper Wednesday afternoon, prompting police to shut down part of the city for about two hours.
Richard Wills, of Dawson, Fayette County, a maintenance worker in the Pittsburgh Allegheny County Thermal building, brought the weapon to work to chase pigeons away from broken windows on the building's roof, said PACT President Robert Fazio. Someone apparently spotted him - and his rifle - when he stepped out onto the roof for a few seconds, Fazio said.
At least three witnesses called police, claiming they saw a sniper atop a Penn Avenue building, sparking a two-hour shutdown of several city blocks and a brief manhunt by the city Police Bureau's most heavily armed officers. Police arrived on the scene shortly after 1 p.m., stunning lunchtime crowds as they set up a command center in Fifth Avenue Place and blocked off parts of Penn Avenue, Stanwix Street, Liberty Avenue and highway ramps into the Golden Triangle.
A police officer standing guard outside the door of a Penn Avenue restaurant gave bar manager Carie Wakinekona a terse and troubling answer when she asked him about the massive police presence. "Guy with a rifle," he said. The news traveled fast.
For rest of article: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/search/s_435980.html
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
All over a guy with an air rifle.
Ping!
Ping!
yoi..............................
For every pigeon you kill, ten more will rise up to take its place.
Wouldn't they be better off by fixing the broken windows?
And aren't windows on roofs called "skylights"?
"...he's up on the roof with his boids. He keeps boids. Dirty... disgusting... filthy... lice-ridden boids. You used to be able to sit out on the stoop like a person. Not anymore! No, sir! Boids!... You get my drift?"
Hey, I saw that line in a movie. "The Producers", I think.
Springtime for Hitler and Germany. Winter for Poland and France.
Hmmmm. There could be a " consulting " gig opening in Pittsburgh. I'll let 'em off cheaply, say $150,000 ?
You should see what they've done to the statues in NYC. Yuk.
One wonders if the police officer who told the bar manager about a "guy with a rifle" would have been better off saying there were "conflicting requests for assistance" or something like that. The first explanation, while somewhat truthful, has the potential to really spook the hoplophobic horses...and the officer should know that.
~ Blue Jays ~
Too cheap. The liberal government of Pittsburgh would pay much more than that for consulting work on pigeons, especially if they get a big kick-back for themselves.
bingo.
Well, isn't it obvious that we now need to ban assault air rifles?
Poor pigeons. Poor endangered pigeons...
Ping!
That guy could've shot his eye out.
Cat AND a rifle.
Double-trouble for pigeons. LOL!
He is really going to be in trouble when PETA and ELF get after his sorry butt.
and the Mayor donned a bullet-proof vest.
He should have gone with the lighter and cooler BB-proof vest.
Pigeons = Rats with wings.
Makes me wanna puke.
It's Pudge!
"Who was the stool pigeon who turned this guy in"?
At least three witnesses (stool pigeons) called police.
I like your choice of words. Very appropriate!
"...Richard Wills, a maintenance worker in the building, brought the weapon to work to chase pigeons away from broken windows on the building's roof, said PACT President Robert Fazio..."
Now that police and the media know it's a dang pellet gun, they could similarly tone down their rhetoric. Let's be truthful here, it is essentially a toy used to plink empty soda cans or possibly to get rid of pests. Depending on the distance, it might not even be capable of permanently hurting the pigeons.
~ Blue Jays ~
Oh man, I have no idea why but I can't stop giggling over this one.
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
You obviously don't know the Mayor of Pittsburgh. A head shot would just pass right through and not do any damage.
Its a real hoot, that's for sure.
I think pigeons are tasty... at least country pigeons. You never know what those city pigeons have eaten...
Depends on what type of pellet gun it is. If it's a Daisy or low-end Crossman, sure. OTOH, my Beeman Kodiak has no problem blowing a .25 cal pellet through 1/4 inch ply or a 55 gallon drum at 40 yards.
Yes, there will always be enthusiasts with high-performance models, and I'm guessing this was probably a common BB or pellet gun. Interesting to hear about your Beeman as I'm currently in the market for either a GAMO, Beeman, or RWS model myself. Mostly to frighten feral cats from the property to protect songbirds without making too much noise in the neighborhood.
~ Blue Jays ~
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Man, where's Tom Lehrer when you need him???
Move ahead 5-10 years when I was in high school one of the "new" neighbors (a.k.a. city slicker transplant) in the neighborhood saw me and some friends with a bb gun and she called the cops. When the officer responded and realized it was only a bb gun he apologized for the misunderstanding and left.
That was about 10-15 years ago. If that had happened now, a swat team would of showed up and I'd have made the ten o'clock news as well as the papers.
We also use to love fireworks and I think of some of the stuff we did with m-80's and I thank god that I'm not a kid nowadays.
"There's a sniper on the roof so I'm going to run out into the street".
NOBODY in the story displayed any common sense whatsoever.
It is a heavily liberal city. I guess that explains a lot.
Unbelievable!! The stupid mayor must want to live forever.
"Mostly to frighten feral cats from the property to protect songbirds without making too much noise in the neighborhood."
Most of those guns are likely to be a bit high powered to shoot cats w/o seriously hurting them. Unless you shoot cleaning pellets at 'em. Maybe an airsoft?
If you want a reasonably priced, very accurate pellet gun, Airgun Depot is closing out the Beeman R7 in .20 cal. It's lightish power for a spring-air, but very quiet. Shoots about 600 fps, depending on pellet. Here's their page for the sale:
http://www.airgundepot.com/beeman-air-rifle-r7.html
No affiliation except for being a satisfied customer.
I remember having live ammo at school right after President Kennedy was assisinated (8th grade) and the teachers showing an interest in the bullets I had with me. They were asking questions like "Is this one like the bullet that killed the president"?
The dummy grenade I brought in the same day raised no eyebrows either. I shouldn't have brought it, though, as it was bulky and heavy and didn't fit into my pocket. I carried it to all of my classes and set it on my desk.
In grade school we brought pocket knives with us and played mumbly-peg on the school lawn during recess and lunch time.
I'm with you, I'm glad I grew up when I did.
This is my Rifle,
This is my Gun,
One is fighting,
One is for fun.
OOhhhRRaaahhhHHHH!
"This is my rifle. There are many others like it, but this one is mine"!
"For every pigeon you kill, ten more will rise up to take its place."
That's the beauty.
Skyrats.
"For every pigeon you kill, ten more will rise up to take its place."
That's the beauty.
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