6 pounds is a cannonball. The headline makes it seem as if this was an accident from a Dennis the Menace sized back pocket sling shot. This was a monster of a slingshot.
A buddy of mine, back about the same age as these kids, had a HUGE rubber band from somewhere. We would double wrap it around the posts at the end of his driveway and launch stuff into the field across the street. Or, a few times at an angle over the old widow’s house and into her backyard.
The favorite was homemade “arrows” (spears really) out of 1” x 1” boards with cardboard feathers. Glad we never killed anyone - we easily could have- stupid kids.