back to article DIY satellite TV installer shoots wife dead

Officials are pondering whether to charge a Missouri DIY satellite TV installer who decided that the best way to punch a hole through the wall was with a .22 calibre handgun, and in so doing accidentally shot and killed his wife. According to KCTV5.com, Ronald Long was attempting to install said system in the bedroom of his …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Only in America...

    Would they build houses so flimsy you can knock a hole in a wall with a pea shooter!

    What drill was he using in the first place, a Fischer Price?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    A title is required.

    Heh - typical Yank idiocy, but then what do you expect with a president who can't spell 'Guantemanomo' without the aid of My First World Dictionary, eh?

    Paris, because she knows what Yanks would rather do with their todgers.

  3. Robert Grant

    "everybody was inside the residence"

    ...what - everybody in the WORLD? Or just everybody vulnerable to bullets?

  4. Tim

    Building

    His crappy shack must have been made of paper for a .22 round to be able to penetrate an exterior wall and retain enough energy to kill his wife. Very sad.

  5. Hollerith

    'Under the impression'

    That's all the safety checks he made? Relied on his impression that all his loved ones were safe? Didn't think to, oh, call out and say 'honey, I'm just about to shoot a gun through the wall'. Or peek outside to see if loved ones or even neighbours weren't strolling about.

    So someone is dead, because he didn't take two seconds to check. Throw him in jail, because we don't need idiots walking around our streets.

  6. dervheid

    Only in...

    you know where.

    (walks away shaking head slowly, the subtle strains of the banjo in the background.......)

  7. DM
    Paris Hilton

    Heh

    typical Yank idiocy, but then what do you expect with a president who can't spell 'Guantemanomo' without the aid of My First World Dictionary, eh?

    /Paris, because she knows what Yanks would rather do with their 'guns'.

    /the whole effort has gone out of commenting; somehow something's lacking.

  8. Graham Wood

    Soooo close.

    But the cut & paste comment functionality misses. This yank was "two dumb" (El-Reg spelling, I really hope it was intentional)...

    Does this count as a Darwin award, since she married this dipstick? Although that might be a tad unfair - no-one really deserves to get this sort of treatment off their husband.

  9. Pete

    He thought everyone was inside the building...

    Yeah right. More like he simply got angry and frustrated at not being able to drill his way through and so just grabbed his gun and blasted away, not really thinking about anything else. I know he lost his wife through this but he should be sent down for several years to show others how completely irresponsible and dumb his actions were and, of course, for needlessly taking a human life through his stupidity. Darwin must be cursing that the wrong person was removed from the gene pool.

  10. Solomon Grundy

    Caliber

    See. .22 caliber is a very effective round, regardless of what many ElReg readers think.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Apparently good for nailing, though

    Readers outside the US may not be aware of this, but the gun manufacturers have a sideline of powder-actuated nail insertion devices.

    Basically it's a .22 cartridge which is put into either a contrivance which then fires the nail into whatever it is you are nailing. Different powder loads for different materials - I imagine your nail goes really deep if you use a concrete load on a wood surface.

    Anyway, I wonder if this guy gained inspiration for his idea from this extraordinary piece of hardware. In fairness, apart from the consequences, it did apparently work.

  12. Patrick O'Reilly
    Dead Vulture

    Darwinism?

    There should be some sort of secondary Darwin Award for this guy.

    Why? Because he no longer has a wife have kids with and everyone else whould be to scared to go near him!

  13. Duncan Robertson
    Dead Vulture

    Only in America

    So, first there was the bloke who tried loosening his wheel nuts

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/13/shotgun_mechanic/

    Now this...

    Is there any more proof required for tighter US border control?

    Dead bird due to the morbid and tragic nature of this story...

  14. Steve Evans

    OMG...

    It could only happen in America couldn't it!

    I assume a Black & Decker was too complicated for him to operate?

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Only in America

    I think its time we remove safety labels from every single item and let the problem of the dumb and very stupid solve itself.

  16. Tim Lake
    Coat

    Guns don't kill people...

    Americans do!

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sounds pretty suspicious

    What true red-blooded American male could resist the chance to hop in the car and drive down to the store for a drill & bit capable of chewing through a brick wall?

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    after Graham Wood

    "no-one really deserves to get this sort of treatment off their husband"... I beg to differ - but my situation is somewhat extreme.

    Anyway - enough of my problems, here's a picture of Paris Hilton.

  19. Tom
    Pirate

    Gun Drill!

    I have to side with the first poster on this one, what was he trying to use to drill in the first place that failed so miserably that the only possible device to be able to penetrate such hardy building materials was a gun and x2 bullets..

    however its kinda like hitting a nail wrong and smacking your own hand then needing to have another go. I wonder which bullet killed his wife, the one that went into the wall, or the one that went through the window from his first "attempt"

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Nail Guns

    As Duncan Ellis pointed out, 22 caliber nail guns are quite common around the world.

    Examples of people shooting themselves with such nail guns:

    Los Angeles:

    http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/06/1083635253690.html

    Australia:

    http://www.smh.com.au/news/Opinion/Shot-with-a-nailgun/2004/12/21/1103391737645.html

    Colorado:

    http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/9348.html

    There is even a cottage industry of lawyers due to nail guns injuries by idiots.

    http://www.california-construction-accidents.com/nail_gun_accidents.php4

  21. Miami Mike

    powder actuated nailers

    The tool is called a "Ram-set" (someone's trade name) and it works wonderfully well. I used one when I was building a small house - it would put a 25mm hardened steel nail right through a steel base channel and all the way into fully cured poured concrete. Bang. Bang. Bang. One bang = one nail all the way in. Think of it as a stapler for concrete. And yes, they are dangerous if not used correctly (safety glasses, gloves, and RTFM!!)

    Mr. TV installer is an absolute moron, his wife paid the ultimate price for this. Now we are probably going to see a label on televisions that says "Attempting to watch this device may be hazardous to your health." (We already know they are hazardous to our sanity.)

  22. Graham Dawson Silver badge
    Stop

    "Only in america?"

    Yeah. Only in america does stupid stuff happen, except when it happens somewhere else, like right here in old blighty where I've seen or heard about contractors taking pot-shots at each other with nailguns, idiots knifing their friends to death by accident and more idiots deciding it would be a splendid idea to walk along in front of a high-speed train. But crap like that only happens in america, right, because Americans are Stupid. Everyone knows that...

  23. Brian Miller
    Dead Vulture

    I bet

    The drill was most likely not long enough to go all the way through. He probably got it started and all nice and lined up with the drill holes.

    But this guy is a fool. Anyone who thinks that a gun is a tool, and not a weapon should take heed.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Idiocracy is not just a movie. It is a prophecy.

    You can go on about how he needs to be thrown in jail for stupidity but i see something else.

    Someone care to explain to me how morons like that can be allowed to marry and reproduce?

    Images from the movie Idiocracy come to mind...

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Satellite TV in the Klink?

    hmmm do they have cable or satellite tv in the klink?

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    With his logic he could make a...

    ... colander from a bedpan with a shotgun.

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    So he was

    a true cowboy installer...

    Mines the one with the leather fringe and stetson

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Darwin Award

    Would he still qualify if he was a creationist?

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    One thing missing...

    ... and this is quite serious.

    He obviously managed to make the hole, so has he got the dish up?

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    I'm going to guess..

    That it was either a .22 caliber RIFLE or he lived in a trailer. I'm an American, but every time I hear something like this, my resolve to someday move to Canada gets a little stronger...

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Legalise firearms for anyone not an idiot

    Yeah, like that'll work.

    For those who don't know, one of the NRA's key rules of firearm safety is to be aware of what is behind the target you shoot at. That means you do look or you're being reckless with a gun.

    I would say lock him up but this is in America. They have laws for frying people like him so use them.

  32. Sam

    re; Solomon Grundy

    "See. .22 caliber is a very effective round, regardless of what many ElReg readers think."

    That's CALIBRE!

    Gnnnnhhhh.....

    And yes, having used one I wouldn't like to be on the receiving end.

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Friendly Fire

    He's apparently planning to hang a picture of his wife soon...

  34. PaddyR

    yeah sure, call me a cynic but.....

    he thought the wife was in the house, or did he wait till he had a clear shot. What is it they say "marriage isnt a word, it's a sentence" and of course "If i'd killed her i'd be out the jail by now" or "cant live with them, cant get away with digging a huge hole in the back garden and burying them", well we can all stop digging the holes now and just install the satellite system. either bloody idiot or bloody evil genius

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Re: Idiocracy is not just a movie. It is a prophecy.

    "Someone care to explain to me how morons like that can be allowed to marry and reproduce?"

    Reproduction is a relatively harmless task, wouldn't you prefer to know how morons like that can legally own a gun?

  36. Dennis
    Alert

    Pre-emptive strike

    We all know that satellite TV has more channels. This leads to bitter and violent arguments over the remote control. Perhaps this wasn’t an accident. He merely indulged a US passion for pre-emptive strikes and ensured he held onto the TV remote control.

  37. g e

    Just a quick post to say

    What an utter fucking twat.

    P.S.

    Tighter border controls - to keep Americans in America.

    P.P.S

    When it happens here in Old Blighty (i.e. not in America, though the Atlantic seems to be the only difference these days) we really do take it as Darwinism. Seriously. It's a moment to rejoice briefly. In this case a ricochet killing the tit with the gun would have been the decent outcome though :o|

  38. Stone Fox
    IT Angle

    @ Graeham Dawson

    You can defend them all you like, but why do you think the expression is so common?!

    Also, I'd be looking at whether or not they've been rowing, or she's been playing away because the odds of shooting through a wall blind and hitting someone centre mass are not good...

  39. Edward Rose

    @Graham Dawson

    Come on man, we just want cheap shots at the Yanks, they voted in GWB after all.

    Good point well made though.

    Manslaughter? He should go down for that, plus waving a gun about like a complete idiot, and for not pointing it in the right direction (looking down the barrel).

    As for the people who are surprised a .22 could do this, please do us all a favour, grab a .22 calibre weapon, make an automated 'kilbot' to pull the trigger, then stand some distance back and back up your claims with paper work.

    They penetrate soft flesh easily, most major organs are soft. Put two and two together please (pun not originally intended). Thinish wood walls aren't uncommon out there are they?

  40. Michael

    care much?

    A man accidently kills his own wife and all you all can do is make fun of him? Wow. Perhaps all of you should stop and think about what that says about you.

  41. Daniel Silver badge
    Coat

    @Edward Rose

    "...they voted in GWB after all."

    Um, no they didn't.

    Mine's the one made from "Gore" Tex....

  42. TeeCee Gold badge
    Joke

    Plumbing?

    A good thing he wasn't fitting an outside tap. He'd probably have used a Barret Light .50 and killed someone four blocks away.

  43. dervheid

    @ Michael

    Not so much making fun of him, but of the idiot laws, in the idiot nation, which allows pretty much any idiot to own a gun. Or several.

    Or don't you get satire?

  44. Anonymous John

    Well if he can shoot his wife through a wall,

    he woudn't have had a problem lining up the dish on the satellite.

  45. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Why two shots?

    Did he somehow miss the wall with the first shot?

  46. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    He did what?

    Someone help me out here please. Maybe I didn't read the article properly, but if he was installing a dish, wouldn't be ideally be doing that outside?

    If I remember correctly .22 comes in Short, Long and Magnum flavours. I've put .22 longs through a steel door like it's paper. Magnums would pack a cosiderable punch.

  47. Graham Bartlett

    House quality (@Tim)

    Re house quality, many (or even most) houses in the US are timber-framed. The outside is then faced with wood or plastic, and the inside is plasterboard. So no problems getting a bullet through. As far as drills go, a likely problem would be drill-bit length. I know I'd happily put a bullet through a wall if it saved me buying a $20 bit *AND* I knew there was no-one in the line of fire.

  48. Sam

    Troll alert

    "A man accidently kills his own wife and all you all can do is make fun of him? Wow. Perhaps all of you should stop and think about what that says about you."

    What do you want us to do, give him a fucking medal and a standing ovation?

  49. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Bi g uns!

    If you are in any doubt about the destructive potential of a .22, you should remember that the SA80, M60 and AK-74 (as opposed to AK-47. No, it wasn't a typo) are all 5.56mm (new way of saying .22 in old money)

    He may not have had an automatic assault rifle, but an idiot (American or otherwise) can still do a lot of damage with one.

    Bigger is not always better when it comes to ballistic energy!

    Paris, 'cos she'd need a huuugge nailgun!

  50. Nano nano

    Statistics ...

    the more people with guns, the greater the chance of a nut or wally getting hold of one ...

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