2005 Darwin Award, early edition

[rgr]

The following mind-boggling attempt at a crime spree in Washington USA

appeared to be the robber's first (and last), due to his lack of a
previous record of violence and his terminally stupid choices:

1. His target was H&J Leather & Firearms, A gun shop specializing in
handguns.

2. The shop was full of customers - firearms customers.

3. To enter the shop, the robber had to step around a marked police
patrol parked at the front door.

4. A uniformed officer was standing at the counter, having coffee before
work. Upon seeing the officer, the would-be robber announced a hold-up,
and fired a few wild shots from a .22 target pistol. The officer and a
clerk promptly returned fire, the police officer with a 9mm Glock 17,
the clerk with a .50 Desert Eagle, assisted by several customers who
also drew their guns, several of whom also fired, The robber was
pronounced dead at the scene by Paramedics.

Crime scene investigators located 47 expended cartridge cases in the
shop. The subsequent autopsy revealed 23 gunshot wounds. Ballistics
identified rounds from 7 different weapons. No one else was hurt in the
exchange of fire.
Here we are at the beginning of March and we already may have the 2005
winner of the Darwin Award. This guy is going to be hard to beat.

[bammbamm]

Gun Control: The ability to hit your target.

I've always wondered how something like that would go down in the Place I go for target shooting, all the clerks are armed and most are quite proficient as they are gunsmiths and all compete on team shooting matches.

That must have looked like a scene right out of a movie.

One less moron in the world.

Bamm

[jim777]

Sounds to me like what used to be called "Suicide by Cop" in NYC. If he fired wild shots and didn't hit anyone ("no one else was hurt in the exchange of fire") this guy was committing suicide, not robbing the store.

jim

[whatshisname]

Rotflmfao!!!!

[gitarguy]

I have to agree with jim777 sounds like the guy wanted to die but didn't have the stomach to do it himself.

[ryanb]

That isn't a 2005 story. It has been going around the Internet and on TV shows for years now ... a little different each time.

[rgr]

Yeah, I heard that after I posted it, still a sickly funny story. I was also told to check http://www.darwinawards.com/, plenty of stuff there including urban legends. There are a few that I've seen on Mythbusters.

Roger