KRQE News 13 – Paintball potshots end in arrest
An alleged drive-by shooter was arrested Sunday after an officer spotted him firing at pedestrians with a paintball gun, Albuquerque police reported. …
On Sunday morning, Ernest Jerry Molina is accused of taking those factors for granted while shooting at people from his truck at Central Avenue and Washington Street.
An officer reported witnessing the shooting. Molina was thrown in jail, charged with propulsion of missiles.
“The problem with this is the guns look very similar and almost exactly to a regular weapon,” Hoffman said.
Even up close a paintball gun does appear to be a deadly weapon, and it shoots like one.
That’s why it’s taken so seriously by paintball gamers and game centers. A paintball bullet can cause serious injury if hit hard enough and in a vulnerable place.
“If they’re shot in the eye, … it could take an eye out.” Conrad Morawski of Hinkle Family Fun Center said. “If they get shot in the head at 400 feet per second there’s a possibility for brain damage.”
In rare cases, death can even result. …
Molina, who reportedly admitted his actions, is out on bond and id expected in court Tuesday.
I’m not an ‘eye-for-an-eye’ guy, but Molina should know what a stupid and cruel thing he did. mjh
mjh’s blog — Photo of Paintball Wound
Mark,
I admire your eye-for-an-eye position on paintball dickheads, but I cannot support it. 400 feet per
second projectile used against innocent people? These paintball losers need to removed from the gene pool, ASAP, before they strike
again.
As an innocent pedestrian who was shot from a car by a paintasshole three years ago on Montgomery Boulevard, I think
paintball assault from a passing car should be classified as felony assault and the perps should be killed, preferably by having
paintballs shot down their slimey, violence-caked throats until they expire. Paintball guns are “gateway” weapons and the quicker you
shut down their abuse the better for society.
I was amused by the almost-right comment, above: ““The problem with this is the
guns look very similar and almost exactly to a regular weapon,†Hoffman said.”
Don’t be such a dummy, Hoffman! Paintball guns
ARE regular weapons from a functional standpoint when they are used against innocent people. They injure, sometimes permanently, their
victims. Even the Hinkle guy admits it can cause brain damage.
Would you support probation for someone who tried to inflict brain
damage on you?
Would you support probation for someone who DID inflict brain damage on you?
The fact that a certain subset
of the American Idiot public allows themselves to be voluntarily shot by paintballs under controlled conditions does not mean that
paintballing is safe. It just mean there are idiots in America who voluntarily participate in dangerous acts. We don’t need to devalue
assault by paintball gun by dismissing it as “sport.”
EXAMPLE: A karate enthusiast loses a martial arts match one night against a
voluntary opponent. On the way home and still fuming over his loss, Mr. Karate kicks his neighbor’s head off with an expert blow. Do we
say: “Oh, well, that’s just a sport move, most people who receive a karate kick don’t die, let him go with a warning.” Fuck, no!
Paintball abusers inflict pain and potentially permanent injury on their innocent victims. The fact that they shoot plastic paintballs
at injurious speeds rather than metallic bullets could be noted on their execution warrant, but should be a mere technicality as far as
their trial, conviction, sentencing and execution go.
Isn’t “intention” – as in “point gun and kill or injure” – isn’t that
supposed to be important in our admittedly creaky legal system? Paintballers know ahead of time – better than any of us – how painful and
dangerous paintballing can be. They have no excuse.
Why do they wear protective gear when they participate in these violence-
fests? When paintballers choose to ignore their own observations and attack an innocent person, they should pay the ultimate price. jaz