TTAG reader SS sent this one in with his usual terse, straight-to-the-point commentary: “You can’t make this sh1t up.” To wit: “Officers were called to St. Francis Hospital about 7 p.m. on reports of a man injured in an accidental gun discharge,” denverpost.com reports. “[Adam] Hirtle, however, told police the shooting was completely on purpose. Hirtle told an officer he shot himself in his garage.” Actually, he shot himself in one of his extremities . . .
Hirtle stated he took his boot off and shot it, then placed his boot back on his foot and then intentionally shot himself in the foot, police say. “He did not sustain life-threatening injury nor was anybody else injured.”
INo harm – OK some self-harm, no foul? Nope. Not as far as the Colorado Springs police are concerned.
Adam Hirtle, 30, is suspected of prohibited use of weapons, reckless endangerment and child abuse in the shooting. Sgt. James Sokolik, a police spokesman, said Hirtle was served a summons in the case and released.
I wonder what that felt like. Or what it feels like to receive TTAG’s Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day award. I hope I never find out.
“…and child abuse”
I didn’t read anything about a child. Are they just trying to stack up a bunch of charges in the hopes one of them ‘sticks?’
SOP. Pile on a bunch of charges that will never stick, extort a plea bargain. How this kind of overcharging doesn’t result in disbarment I’ll never know, since they seem to pile all over private practice guys for stuff less egregious than this.
I would have talked to the neighbors to find out if the gunshot bang disturbed them and charged him with disorderly conduct also.
And littering if it was a semi auto.
He shot a 30 year old. That’s a child victim of gun violence. Just ask the folks at Violence is our Policy Center if you don’t believe me.
“Hirtle was served a summons in the case and released.”
No need to arrest, he can’t run very far.
how irresponsible do you have to be to get your name up and bright lights? wouldn not cleaning your carry pistol for a couple of weeks qualify? Lol
Why would you… Did he really… What?
“Why would you…”
Don’t look a gift Schadenfreude in the mouth…
So to speak.
In answer to your question, dumbass is gonna dumbass.
Then again, it’s Colorado, maybe he was stoned to the bone…
I bet it harshed his buzz, tho…
I’m not sure what’s going on here. Remember the last guy who shot his computer in his basement? Yeah, same city. Something in the water or something.
Who of us hasn’t seriously been motivated to blow their ‘puter to silicon purgatory?
If that day ever comes, my computer will go out Office Space-style.
“Back up in yo a$$ wit tha resurrection!”
I get shooting your boot. I get shooting your own foot. Who among us isn’t curious to know what blowing a toe off with a Mini-Mag would feel like?
But why not lie to the cops and say it was an accident? What the hell, dude?
“Who among us isn’t curious to know what blowing a toe off with a Mini-Mag would feel like?”
Someone who hasn’t experienced chronic pain as their day-to day reality.
In case it wasn’t clear, I was joking there…
I read one of the original reports. He said he did it just to see what it would feel like. He used a .22. What a whimp! If you really want to know what shooting yourself in the foot feels like, I wouldn’t go less than a 9mm +P!
Sounds like he was starting with small calibers to build up an immunity.
Dang it!
I have got to remember not to be drinking anything while reading comments.
I’m guess this dingus bought himself some steel toed boots and was trying to see if they were as “bulletproof” as advertised.
Shoots empty boot. “Huh, didn’t penetrate.” “I wonder what that would feel like?” Shoots filled boot, calls 911, gets honored on TTAG as IGOTD.
“They were both loaded. I’ve spent the last four years building up an immunity to rimfires.”
Seems he is only a runner up for this year’s Darwin award, although I am not sure how much actual “running” he will be doing now.
He’d have to have shot a few feet higher to earn a Darwin award. That requires removing himself from the gene pool.
Bonus points if he hasn’t reproduced yet, forever eliminating his DNA from contaminating (in)humanity’s gene pool…
What part of shooting himself in the foot came out to child abuse? He isn’t a child.
Idiot Man-Child perhaps?
This little piggy went to the market? This little piggy stayed home….
I’m confused – why’d he shoot his boot first then put it back on and shoot his foot? I mean really was it some strange science experiment?
Result 1> Boot Not bullet proof.
Result 2> Foot in boot not bullet proof…
Result 3> Foot not in boot still not bullet proof.?
Or maybe got confused about the target? Shoot boot. Put boot on, shoot boot! Ooops, I forgot I stuck my foot in it!
Must of been a Design of Experiments.
We had a guy do this with a nail gun at work once. To prove that the metatarsal shields wouldn’t stop a nail. He made his point.
Does it really sound like he had a good plan?
Prohibited use of a weapon? What, since when are you not allowed to shoot yourself, should you feel the urge? Reckless endangerment of who? Himself? I don’t think so–if that were the case, skiing, rock climbing, etc etc would be unlawful. Sounds to me as if they couldn’t think of any crime he’d committed, but they just had to charge him with SOMETHING!
A lot of municipalities limit the lawful use of weapons to the scope of self-defense only. As in, you can’t set up a 20-ft shooting range in your garage, but if someone breaks in the door you can shoot them (5 times in the face, even). You can’t (legally) go around shooting out light bulbs to turn them off ala Homer Simpson.
So, prohibited use of a weapon may be a legit charge.
Shooting street lamps to turn them off? Chicago’s top cop knows a thing or two about that, also.
Tell that to the country kids with bb guns that shoot street lights. Heheh
So the fireworks look better.
Hold on – let me take off my boot.
While speaking to my superintendent today I referred to one of my other workers as “the dumbest person on the planet”. I stand corrected.
At least you can “stand”!
Was he wheeled away in a gurney, or did the ambulance driver hold the door open and tell him to hop in?
Groucho Marx would be proud: “This morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. What he was doing in my pajamas, I’ll never know!”
He took the saying “shoot yourself in foot” literally and decided to Myth-buster it up by doing a different bevy of tests. He immediately regretted his decision.
Child abuse? It was a bit juvenile, is that the prosecutor’s angle?
If it’s his own kid, maybe they’re figuring having a father this stupid is itself a form of abuse.
Am I the only one to notice that if you rearrange the letters of his name, it spells HITLER?
Considering the subject, and the fun we’re having mocking him, perhaps it’s more appropriate to rearrange his full name into “A LEAD MIRTH”.
Every snarky thing that comes to mind, someone else already said.
That said, damn!
Testing new steel toe boot made with 500 Brinnell ?
They should have just written him a speeding ticket. Wait for it…he’s got a lead foot.