After the Black Hole of Calcutta came to be general knowledge, the British dealt with rebellious Sepoys by strapping them across the muzzles of field pieces and firing away. That was the first instance of the use of the phrase "to blow away" someone. Waging war was one thing, maltreatment of prisoners and civilians another.
This sort of thing would have produced a spate of hangings 150 years ago.
What’s more funny is that they’re doing this at will. These aren’t people they shipped in as slaves 200 years ago. They’re allowing them in by the boatload for pretty much no good reason whatsoever. It’s as if they’re bored with existing.