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Family mourns Utah boy killed toy cannon
Sturmgewehr
Member Posts: 4,420
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (AP) - Family members and former classmates said they're still in shock after a 14-year-old Utah boy fatally shot himself with a miniature toy cannon earlier this week.
After Robby Ostberg was pronounced dead at his Tremonton home with major head injuries, mother Sara Ostberg described her son as mechanically gifted.
"He was so mechanically inclined," Sara Ostberg told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "He fixed everything. He tinkered with everything. That's how this happened."
Tremonton police said Robby Ostberg was playing with the toy in his living room at about 7:30 a.m. Monday when the cannon went off. The boy was struck in the face and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities haven't released detailed information about what kind of projectile hit Ostberg, but grandmother Lucille Hertel told the Deseret News her grandson sometimes wrapped gunpowder in tin foil and fired it a few feet away with the cannon.
The toy is described as an 18th century replica with a 6-inch metal barrel and a wooden base. Authorities said it had no built-in firing mechanism and was meant to be purely decorative. Hertel said a neighbor gave it to the boy several years ago.
The boy's father didn't know Ostberg had access to gunpowder, Hertel said.
"It was an accident that shouldn't have happened," she said Tuesday. "It was just a toy."
A small group of ninth-graders, dressed in their Sunday best, gathered Tuesday at Bear River Middle School in Garland to show respect for their former classmate.
Principal Eldon Petersen told the Standard-Examiner of Ogden that Ostberg had fallen behind in his schoolwork in late 2010 due to health issues and was taken off the rolls in March 2011. He didn't re-enroll this school year, and Petersen was unsure whether the boy was being home-schooled.
Classmates described him as a boy who could fix anything, who tended to be shy in large groups, and who wouldn't retaliate against students who made fun of him.
"If someone dissed on him, he would take it as a compliment," said Caitelin Olive. "He treated everyone with respect."
The family has set up an account with Wells Fargo to raise money for a funeral, which is scheduled for Friday.
After Robby Ostberg was pronounced dead at his Tremonton home with major head injuries, mother Sara Ostberg described her son as mechanically gifted.
"He was so mechanically inclined," Sara Ostberg told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "He fixed everything. He tinkered with everything. That's how this happened."
Tremonton police said Robby Ostberg was playing with the toy in his living room at about 7:30 a.m. Monday when the cannon went off. The boy was struck in the face and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities haven't released detailed information about what kind of projectile hit Ostberg, but grandmother Lucille Hertel told the Deseret News her grandson sometimes wrapped gunpowder in tin foil and fired it a few feet away with the cannon.
The toy is described as an 18th century replica with a 6-inch metal barrel and a wooden base. Authorities said it had no built-in firing mechanism and was meant to be purely decorative. Hertel said a neighbor gave it to the boy several years ago.
The boy's father didn't know Ostberg had access to gunpowder, Hertel said.
"It was an accident that shouldn't have happened," she said Tuesday. "It was just a toy."
A small group of ninth-graders, dressed in their Sunday best, gathered Tuesday at Bear River Middle School in Garland to show respect for their former classmate.
Principal Eldon Petersen told the Standard-Examiner of Ogden that Ostberg had fallen behind in his schoolwork in late 2010 due to health issues and was taken off the rolls in March 2011. He didn't re-enroll this school year, and Petersen was unsure whether the boy was being home-schooled.
Classmates described him as a boy who could fix anything, who tended to be shy in large groups, and who wouldn't retaliate against students who made fun of him.
"If someone dissed on him, he would take it as a compliment," said Caitelin Olive. "He treated everyone with respect."
The family has set up an account with Wells Fargo to raise money for a funeral, which is scheduled for Friday.
Comments
When I was 12 years old, back in 1962, I got a toy "muzzleloader" for Christmas.
This was a replica Kentucky rifle. You put a Greenie Stickum cap where the nipple would normally be. There was a flat place where you put the cap. It had a hammer just like a real Kentucky rifle.
You put a cork round ball in the barrel and the rifle would fire it.
The cork ball would go 50 feet with just the power of the Greenie Stickum cap.
One day I got the bright idea of loading it like a real muzzleloader. I got some Black Cat firecrackers and cut them in two and got the powder out. Back then, firecrackers were legal in Georgia. The powder was very fine and silver in color.
I got the powder from 5 Black Cats and loaded up.
Instead of a cork ball I found a marble that fit the bore well. I didn't know about patches. The gun had a little metal ramrod and I rammed the marble home.
At least, I had the brains to wedge the gun in a big bush. I aimed it at the neighbors foundation wall 30 feet away.
I got a 20 foot kite string to pull the trigger. See, even for a dumb kid I had the brains to use the kite string.
I pulled the trigger from 20 feet away and the thing went off with a BOOM. Big cloud of smoke. It was most impressive.
I went over to the neighbor's house and there was a 2 inch hole in the concrete block!
There were no witnesses and I kept my mouth shut.
I bet this unfortunate deceased kid followed my path and used a marble for a projectile, somehow the gun got pointed at him when it went off.
And with the proper adult supervised training... It could have been avoided.
I agree boys will be boys... And adults NEED to be adults.
I feel for the family... And wish the boy had not died from the unfortunate circumstances.
But I simply ask where were the parents and why or how could this young 14 year old do as he pleased?
Possibly he knew all he needed to about the cannon and made a mistake...
And Mom or Dad was comfortable with him doing what he pleased with the cannon.
I still ask... Where were either of the parents?
Not to shabby for a 6 and 8 yr kids eh?