Forest Ranger shoots self instead of snake

[SteveGrenard]

This is the second case in recent weeks of people trying to shoot snakes who shot others , now including themselves. The first case involved two police officers trying to shoot a snake (non-venomous) in a bird house but killed a 5 year old kid instead.


http://www.sunherald.com/201/story/139485.htm



-- Instead of killing a venomous snake, Dale Cupp, a 43-year-old
Stone County forest ranger, apparently shot off his knee cap. The
family doesn't know what happened near his garden in the Silver Run
community, but they said Cupp knows guns and practices gun safety.
The snake apparently got away.

The story continues to be pieced together by the family as Cupp
recovers, unable to talk at this point, in Memorial Hospital in
Gulfport. It was touch and go after the 6 p.m. Sunday accident, with
the family hearing that he at one point lost most of his blood and
his low blood pressure couldn't be stabilized.

[HarryKeogh]

Shooting off your knee cap? I ain't no smarty-pants doctor with fancy schoolin' but I bet that's gotta hurt.

[Cuddles]

but they said Cupp knows guns and practices gun safety

I can't be the only one that thinks he needs a bit more practice.

[tsg]

The link is dead.

[catbasket]

Try http://www.sunherald.com/201/story/139485.html

[catbasket]

From stories the family has heard, they are crediting Cupp's survival to Capt. Phyllis Olds of the sheriff's department, whose emergency measures before EMTs arrived may have saved his life.

Amazing, goddidit didn't get the credit!

[fuelair]

Amazing, goddidit didn't get the credit!

Trust me - at some point it will.

[tsg]

Amazing, goddidit didn't get the credit!

That was my reaction, too.

My second reaction was, "is it common for someone who practices gun safety to be carrying a gun while weeding the garden?" But then, I'm not from Mississippi.

["]Believe it or not, the gunshot actually saved his life..."

Nicely explained that with the loss of blood also went the loss of snake venom.

Interesting but, I would add, probably not recommended treatment for a snake bite.

[Amapola]

So did he get bitten or not? I don't understand the woman saying the gunshot saved his life..... he is not likely to have died from an actual envenomation and shooting himself in the kneecap and losing all that blood just doesn't sound healthy to me. And the other hospital claims there is no evidence of snake bite. My *guess* is he was not bitten at all. I hope the guy is OK and can give a coherent story soon.

It's too bad people have to get so freaked out over snakes. If they were so concerned about the possible danger, they should spend their time running around shooting cars, which are far more deadly to people. It would probably be just as effective at "saving" people.

[strathmeyer]

Not to mention the many other things he could've been doing that he is now blaming on the snake. He practiced gun safety? Isn't one of the rules of gun safety: don't shoot things that don't need shottin'?

[Sir Robin Goodfellow]

If I see a snake on a plane with a gun, I'll kill it!

[pipelineaudio]

good shootin' ! Now come out here and shoot all the yuppies killing our snakes, officer