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Thread: Robby Ostberg (14) killed when he is shot in the face by a toy cannon

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    I'm fancy ketchup HockeyGirl's Avatar
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    Robby Ostberg (14) killed when he is shot in the face by a toy cannon



    Utah cops are trying to determine what triggered a tiny replica cannon to fire something into the face of a 14-year-old boy, killing him.

    "We're waiting for the autopsy," said Joyce Hansen, administrative assistant to the chief of police in Tremonton, Utah. She said it might take weeks, depending on the workload of the state medical examiner's office in Salt Lake City.

    Robby Ostberg died Monday when the replicate 18th century cannon he was holding fired accidentally, a police press release said.

    According to the release, Ostberg had been playing video games with his 16-year-old brother when the cannon erupted. He was dead when police arrived, the release said.

    The release said the cannon was a .50-caliber weapon designed to be fired with black powder. Police did not know what type of propellant may have been in the cannon Monday or if there had been a projectile in it, police said.

    Robby Ostberg often filled the cannon with black powder and fired tinfoil balls out of it, Cameron Kunsman, who called Robby his best friend, told the Deseret News.

    Trever Steinlicht, a neighbor, said cannons like the Ostbergs' could send a projectile through a wall or kill "small game," ABC4 said. They are known to go off accidentally, he said. "All it takes is for something to slip and the hammer to drop on it and it will go boom," Steinlicht said.

    There is legal confusion over whether the miniature cannons are decorations, toys or firearms, according to a blog post by legal scholar Jonathan Turley.

    "Utah laws are silent on replica firearms and antique firearms," he notes. If the cannon that killed Ostberg was designed to fire a .50-caliber round, Turley asks, should it be treated as a firearm and should it come with warnings and a safety lock, he asks.

    Ostberg's father, Allen Ostberg, was home at the time of the accident, the release said. A relative told ABC4 Salt Lake City that Ostberg was an Army veteran who had guns in the home, but he locked them and taught his sons gun safety.

    http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs...-abc-news.html

    poor kid. He does look like the chubby kid from Billy Madison.

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    Lionfish Whisperer PCP777's Avatar
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    Poor little guy, what a tragedy.

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    Senior Member morbidT's Avatar
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    A 14 year old wearing a Corona t-shirt My parents would have beat my butt if I were caught wearing anything that had anything to do with alcohol, smoking, drugs, etc.

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    I know a little about this. Those cannons are basically guns. They are simply a gun barrel mounted on little wheels, made to look like a miniature cannon. They fire bullets/lead balls the same as any other black powder rifle.

    I'm involved in a reinactment group who uses these things on occassion. I remember one guy going off on the people at an event for behaving in an unsafe manner around the cannon--walking in front of it when it's loaded, and doing all kinds of other unsafe things. He seemed kind of whiney, but now I know why he was so concerned.

    Again, the cannon IS a firearm, so all rules that apply to guns apply to these little cannons. Not laws per se, but SAFETY RULES. That being said, I'd like to know why in the hell it was loaded INDOORS and facing toward the kid's head? It could've just as easily been turned towards a wall rather than pointin towards human beings.

    The kid failed I'm sure. But I blame the parents. Obviously this kid should never have had access to a loaded firearm. And I'm not even going to touch the childhood obesity issue...
    I wear caps with flat brims and sunglasses with white frames. I...DROOL...

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    Certified Grumple Bottoms Ron_NYC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by morbidT View Post
    A 14 year old wearing a Corona t-shirt My parents would have beat my butt if I were caught wearing anything that had anything to do with alcohol, smoking, drugs, etc.
    Seriously. Going by this judgement, I'm surprised he made it to 14.
    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
    Ron was the best part, hands down.

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    Junior Member afereL's Avatar
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    There was a toy cannon that concluded the life of 14-year-old Tremonton, Utah, adolescent Robby Ostberg Monday, reports Deseret News. While tinkering with the little machine, blockage brought on the cannon to either explode or fire a tin foil projectile to the boy's face. Funeral arrangements are currently being prepared. Resource for this article:14-year-old boy killed by toy cannon. Family friend Danielle Kunsman said Ostberg was the best friend of her son, Cameron, and previously had demonstrated his miniature cannon for others. She said her son told her he has seen Ostberg fire only bits of aluminum foil.

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    Also, tin is one of the lightest metals, making it the least ideal material possible for a projectile weapon...at least as far as inflicting damage is concerned. By comparison, bullets and cannonballs are made of steel or lead.

    I realize that they were using tin because it's a toy cannon, and was probably cheaper, easier to see, and safer than lead. What makes it so strange is that this was still able to kill him. It's like being killed with a plastic sword, or a rubber bat. He was doing something really wrong if he was killed by a light ball of tin foil.
    I wear caps with flat brims and sunglasses with white frames. I...DROOL...

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    Senior Member boogieman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by HockeyGirl View Post



    poor kid. He does look like the chubby kid from Billy Madison.
    My first thought was that he looked like the kid (Brett Kelly) from Bad Santa.

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    Moderator nestlequikie's Avatar
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    UPDATE:

    Report: Utah boy died from gunpowder explosion
    Brian Skoloff - Associated Press | Posted: Monday, January 30, 2012 3:31 pm |



    SALT LAKE CITY - A 14-year-old boy who accidentally killed himself with a miniature cannon died after suffering severe head and face trauma from the powerful blast, not from being hit with a projectile, authorities said Monday.

    Robby Ostberg died Jan. 23 at his home in Tremonton, about 75 miles north of Salt Lake City.

    Authorities had initially said the boy was playing with what they described as a toy - an 18th century replica cannon with a 6-inch metal barrel and a wooden base.

    On Monday, however, Tremonton Police Chief David Nance said the cannon was designed to be fired just like a gun.

    "It's made to where you can put black powder down into it and fire it off," Nance said.

    The boy's family had said he received the cannon as a gift from a neighbor several years ago. Relatives said Ostberg would sometimes fire tin foil balls from it.

    A preliminary autopsy report indicated there was no projectile in the cannon at the time of the boy's death, Nance said.

    He said "just the force of the gases" caused the fatal injuries.

    Authorities said they don't plan to pursue criminal charges in the case.

    "It's just something that's kind of one of those accidents," Nance said.

    Read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/news/loca...#ixzz1lBm6YKv9
    I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to. - Donnie Darko

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    Senior Member morbidT's Avatar
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    I feel bad for him. I hate hearing severe head and face trauma. It makes me think of the Porsche girl kind of head and face trauma.

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    Moderator nestlequikie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by morbidT View Post
    I feel bad for him. I hate hearing severe head and face trauma. It makes me think of the Porsche girl kind of head and face trauma.

    :::shudder::: I would need eye bleach with your job... maybe brain bleach, too.
    I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to. - Donnie Darko

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    Senior Member morbidT's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nestlequikie View Post
    :::shudder::: I would need eye bleach with your job... maybe brain bleach, too.
    You kind of become desensitized by it all. It's different to come on here and read an article and see a FB page, these people become "real." When I roll up on an accident it's just a person and nothing has been personalized about them. I know that probably sounds terrible, but it's really how I deal. I don't try to get familiar with patients. I don't know if that makes any sense.

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    "It's just something that's kind of one of those accidents..."

    One of "those" accidents? WTF?
    I wear caps with flat brims and sunglasses with white frames. I...DROOL...

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