A "Halo" shooting tragedy :(

[LinkandKvel]

Creek boy dies from gunshot

By Steve Sharp of the Daily Times staff
Friday, September 5, 2008 3:01 PM CDT

JOHNSON CREEK - An 11-year-old Johnson Creek boy died from a gunshot wound Thursday at his home. Foul play is not suspected and the sheriff's department said this morning it appears the shooting was accidental.

According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, dispatchers received a report of the shooting in the town of Farmington at approximately 2:15 p.m. Thursday. The deceased person was Joshua J. Nimm, 11, of W5098 River Road, Johnson Creek.

Deputies, along with personnel from the Johnson Creek Police Department, Johnson Creek EMS and Fort Atkinson paramedics, all responded to the residence where the shooting occurred.

There, with his father, Nimm was located with a fatal gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead by the Jefferson County Coroner's office about 35 minutes later. The cause of death was ruled to be a single, .22 caliber gunshot wound to the head.

“We are ruling that it is an accidental shooting,” Jefferson County Detective Sgt. Larry Lee said. “The child was getting ready for school and decided to skip school. He was playing video games and we found out he had a .22 caliber rifle that belongs to him. He had access to the rifle and a magazine was kept somewhere else by his parents. He was familiar with the rifle and had been shooting it a couple of times a month - he lived out in the country, so that was nothing unusual.”

Lee said it appeared, following the department's investigation, that after playing a combat video game called “Halo,” Nimm took the gun and tried to recreate some of the things that had occurred in the game. With an automatic rifle, Lee said there can sometimes be confusion over whether it contains a magazine or not, and this confusion likely led to Nimm's death.

“He took the magazine out and forgot to eject a round that was in the chamber. He probably thought the gun was unloaded,” Lee said.

Lee said numerous people, including Nimm's parents, his school teachers and his bus driver, were all interviewed and stated he had shown no signs of depression or any differences in his personality recently.

“Dad came home in the afternoon and when he came in the house, the child was in the home and was deceased,” Lee said.

Lee said the incident shows the need for extreme safety with firearms.

“The safety issue with weapons is so important. People should always treat them like they are loaded,” he said.

Nimm was a student at Johnson Creek Middle School. Funeral arrangements are pending at Hafemeister Funeral Home in Watertown.Original Link: http://www.wdtimes.com/articles/2008/09/05/news/news3.txt

I hope they don't blame 'Halo" for this, but you know how the news media is.
Please don't make statements "har, har, survival of t3h fittest dumbass!!". He was a kid....

[ultama121]

Ugh...

[kenney001]

why did an 11 year old have access to an automatic weapon?

[SnaFuBAR]

your topic title is more accusatory than the article :raise:

[Zeph]

Original Link: http://www.wdtimes.com/articles/2008/09/05/news/news3.txt

I hope they don't blame 'Halo" for this, but you know how the news media is.
Please don't make statements "har, har, survival of t3h fittest dumbass!!". He was a kid....

They aren't blaming halo for it. They're blaming the kid's lack of knowledge of how to work firearms.


why did an 11 year old have access to an automatic weapon?

Some kids are more mature than others. In some places, it's common for kids that age to have some sort of weapon available, but still moderated by their parents. In this case, it seems the parents kept the magazines elsewhere, but this one time it slipped. Of course, all it takes is once.

I dont really believe it was an automatic. It was probably semi-auto. The taxes and fees on a .22 automatic rifle would probably be as much as the weapon itself. You'll still have the magazine and you'd have to cycle the bolt to remove the chambered round. If could have really been something as simple as him cycling the bolt and then removing the magazine.

My question is how did he shoot himself with the rifle. A handgun, I can easily understand, but the rifle was probably as big as him.

[LinkandKvel]

My question is how did he shoot himself with the rifle. A handgun, I can easily understand, but the rifle was probably as big as him.And a head wound at that.

[Amit]

Yeah, like how could the barrel be pointed at his head first of all, and then how did he reach to pull the trigger, it'd be a lot of work for an accident...even for a suicide

[itszutak]

before anybody says it, no, this was not the cardboard halo kid. He's still alive and posting videos of all the halo action figures he just got.

[Bodzilla]

there must be an easter egg in halo where the chief points a riffle at his head.

it's the only explanation.

[supersniper]

... I don't understand who would point a gun to their heads...

[SnaFuBAR]

1) youth rifle. they're frickin small .22 rifles. seen em at my local gun store

2) melee and accidentally hit the rifle on furniture or something. bang.

[Hotrod]

I can't help but feel sad for the family, but you have to admit that the kid wasn't the smartest. Why would you go and use a fully-loaded gun to re-create something from a video game? Sure, it's cool and all, but anybody with common sense would at least make sure the gun was empty.

Also, I guess you could blame the parents for leaving a magazine lying around where the kid could find it.

[thehoodedsmack]

2) melee and accidentally hit the rifle on furniture or something. bang.

I hadn't thought of that, but that makes a lot of sense. The kid hits something with the butt of the rifle, the barrel gets pointed at his face, boom. Headshot. :/

[LinkandKvel]

I can't help but feel sad for the family, but you have to admit that the kid wasn't the smartest. Why would you go and use a fully-loaded gun to re-create something from a video game? Sure, it's cool and all, but anybody with common sense would at least make sure the gun was empty.The kid was only 11. Seems like he was kinda smart claiming every now and then he goes to his backyard shooting, which means he at least knew more gun safety then most 11 year-olds. However being at that age things slip your mind very often and he probably forgot to check the magazine was completely empty before playing with it and this happens. All it takes is one mistake.

However my question is how'd they know he was rennacting "Halo" and not some other game?

[Zeph]

1) youth rifle. they're frickin small .22 rifles. seen em at my local gun store

2) melee and accidentally hit the rifle on furniture or something. bang.

:\, possibly. I've never seen magazine fed semi-auto ones though. Only bolt-action equivilant ones.

I guess it could have been a snubbed rifle. Pretty impressive melee then.


I can't help but feel sad for the family, but you have to admit that the kid wasn't the smartest. Why would you go and use a fully-loaded gun to re-create something from a video game? Sure, it's cool and all, but anybody with common sense would at least make sure the gun was empty.

Also, I guess you could blame the parents for leaving a magazine lying around where the kid could find it.

It wasn't fully loaded. If you read the article, you would have seen he took measures to unload the thing but did it wrong.


Yeah, like how could the barrel be pointed at his head first of all, and then how did he reach to pull the trigger, it'd be a lot of work for an accident...even for a suicide

Depends on the what the trigger pressure was set at. Depending on the gun, the trigger can sometimes be tripped by simply moving the gun and having the g-forces be enough. The ANSCHÜTZ and ruger .22 rifles I shoot can be fired if you drop the weapon on the ground from just a few inches off the ground.

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

He could have watched some of the earlier episodes of DEM where a certain sniper exists.

[AAA]

2) melee and accidentally hit the rifle on furniture or something. bang.

^^Most Likely.


But where does it say he had a head wound?...


............I c

[Hotrod]

The kid was only 11. Seems like he was kinda smart claiming every now and then he goes to his backyard shooting, which means he at least knew more gun safety then most 11 year-olds. However being at that age things slip your mind very often and he probably forgot to check the magazine was completely empty before playing with it and this happens. All it takes is one mistake.
True, but an 11 year old skipping school? I don't know anybody of that age wanting to do so.


It wasn't fully loaded. If you read the article, you would have seen he took measures to unload the thing but did it wrong.
I must have misread that part, since I did read it all. My mistake.

[DEElekgolo]

He forgot to put on his cardboard armor.

[DrunkenSamus]

why did an 11 year old have access to an automatic weapon?

Society fails. :downs:

[Boba]

One less idiot on Earth guys, lets celebrate! :party:

[Xetsuei]

He forgot to put on his cardboard armor.

Wasn't cardboard halo kid.

[Gamerkd16]

Wasn't cardboard halo kid.
Yeah. This kid lived in Wisconsin (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=W5098+River+Road,+Johnson+Creek&sll=43.15652,-88.66827&sspn=0.039008,0.077248&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr); the Cardboard Kid (http://www.youtube.com/user/fartbuttface) lives in Canada.

Also the Cardboard Kid signed onto youtube 1 minute ago ago.....unless you believe in cyber ghosts.


I can't wait for his reaction. Coming to his comment board and everyone thinks he's dead.

[Needles]

Why was he pointing a gun at his head?! I'm 12 (only 1 year older), and I wouldn't do that. Even if it was empty, I still wouldn't. Also, he was trying to recreate a first-person shooter into real life?

That's just plain stupidity.

[Roostervier]

Why was he pointing a gun at his head?! I'm 12 (only 1 year older), and I wouldn't do that. Even if it was empty, I still wouldn't.

2) melee and accidentally hit the rifle on furniture or something. bang.
It's a possibility. No one but the kid himself would really know what happened, though.

[Apoc4lypse]

kid was 11, can't really blame him, hell I could see my self accidentally doing something like this (under the right circumstances anyone could...) the clips removed and a round is chambered, and you have no idea...

Its just a horrible accident, the only person I'd say you could blame, but isn't worth your breath because there already under enough stress as it is. The parents, if I ever own any type of weaponry when I get older, and especially if I have children, I'd have everything locked in a safe, probably 2 different safes with 2 diff locks (probably combination locks without keys...). One for the actual guns (just basic storage with a lock), then one for the actual ammunition (would be a bullet proof safe).

Its a tradgedy, I feel sorry for the kid, he had his whole life ahead of him.

E: I have a feeling some people don't fully read these articles because some of the comments I read completely neglect to aknowledge this statement...

“He took the magazine out and forgot to eject a round that was in the chamber. He probably thought the gun was unloaded,” Lee said.

He took the magazine out and he most likely thought it was unloaded, he just didn't properly understand that there could still be a round in the chamber, he was only 11... not everyone learns about guns, not the way some of us around here might have. Like I might have known possibly, but even then its hard to say at 11 I might have been able to do the same thing.

Its even possible for a regular person to make the same mistake if there not paying attention, reguardless of age. For some reason people always blame someones knowledge when ever theres a gun accident.

[n00b1n8R]

I've never even handled a gun but I know to treat them all as if their loaded. >_>

[Limited]

Congrats on the Darwin award lil kid.

[Bodzilla]

i dont think you understand the concept of exactly what a Darwin award is Limited.

[ICEE]

This is why all guns should be kept unloaded and in a safe. As for how he actually managed to shoot himself, we don't have the details to accurately figure out how, but I think that snaf's guess is probably right. Thats what nerf guns are for.. poor kid.

[Limited]

i dont think you understand the concept of exactly what a Darwin award is Limited.

I gots the book, he follows the rules.

"To win, nominees must significantly improve the gene pool by eliminating themselves from the human race in an astonishlystupid way. All races, cultures and socio-economic groups are eligible to compete. Contenders are evaluted using the following crieria:

The candidate must remove himself from the gene pool
The candidate must exhibit an astounding misaplication of judgement
The candidate must be the cause of his own demise
The candidate must be capable of sound judgement
The event must be verifed"

[jngrow]

Um, that's not an astounding misapplication of judgment. Bullet in the chamber, didn't think about it. Only thing is it doesn't make sense how he shot his head. Besides, "LOL KID SHOT HIMSELF" hardly qualifies to be as interesting as some of the other things people do.

Also, he was fucking 11.

[n00b1n8R]

Um, that's not an astounding misapplication of judgment. Bullet in the chamber, didn't think about it.
Treat all weapons as if their loaded. :downs:

[p0lar_bear]

It's not a Darwin award because the event isn't verified. What actually happened is all speculation; the boy was alone when he shot himself. He very well could have chambered a round without knowing it, and accidentally set off the gun. He could very well have chambered the round on purpose and tried setting off the gun in an unorthodox way (dropping, hitting something, etc). For all we know, he very well could have committed suicide on purpose.

I'm happy to say that the article is well-written, and they make it clear what is fact and what is speculation. Fact: neighbors hear a gun go off and report it. Police respond and find a dead boy, a .22 rifle with no magazine loaded, and Halo. Speculation: Boy was probably playing Halo, decided to re-enact first-person arm animations, and managed to accidentally shoot himself in the process, probably by holding it backwards while throwing a melee attack and hitting something with the butt of the rifle. What bugs me is that they say it's an automatic rifle; that can't be true.

At any rate, I'm still waiting for the anti-gun and anti-violent-game nuts to jump on this as usual (and I don't mean people on this forum, I mean in general). No matter how you word it, if one of those 'tards sees "gun", "death", and "accident" in it, they'll start foaming at the mouth and say "that's why we need to ban guns!" Bonus points if a popular video game title is in there; then it's "we need to ban this game, it MADE this person die!"

[Bodzilla]

I gots the book, he follows the rules.

"To win, nominees must significantly improve the gene pool by eliminating themselves from the human race in an astonishlystupid way. All races, cultures and socio-economic groups are eligible to compete. Contenders are evaluted using the following crieria:
The candidate must remove himself from the gene pool
The candidate must exhibit an astounding misaplication of judgement
The candidate must be the cause of his own demise
The candidate must be capable of sound judgement
The event must be verifed"
because an 11 year old accidentally shooting yourself is a massive threat to the genepool.

god dammit limited.

[n00b1n8R]

The fact he was stupid enough to point it at his face says a lot.

[LinkandKvel]

The fact he was stupid enough to point it at his face says a lot.

And how do YOU know he purposely pointed it to himself?

[n00b1n8R]

Well unless they found some evidence to suggest somebody else did (any) that seems to be what happened (how can you accidentally point a gun at your face?).

[PenGuin1362]

Ok, thread is tl;dr. But did they ever consider suicide? Because how the fuck do you imitate halo and end up shooting yourself in the head...with a fucking rifle.

[p0lar_bear]

It's not a Darwin award because the event isn't verified. What actually happened is all speculation; the boy was alone when he shot himself. He very well could have chambered a round without knowing it, and accidentally set off the gun. He could very well have chambered the round on purpose and tried setting off the gun in an unorthodox way (dropping, hitting something, etc). For all we know, he very well could have committed suicide on purpose.

Thank you.

[PenGuin1362]

Ok, thread is tl;dr. But did they ever consider suicide? Because how the fuck do you imitate halo and end up shooting yourself in the head...with a fucking rifle.

You're welcome.

[Limited]

He was experienced with the gun, therefore he was just too stupid at the time to realise it had a bullet it.

Why is no one (media/police) questing the fact an 11 year old was playing a Mature game (17+)? Any one that fucks around with a gun is deemed stupid imo.

He'll probably get an unconfirmed darwinia, we'll see :)

Either way, stupid thing to do. I blame the parents! (srly I do)

[Bodzilla]

a darwin award is setting up a rig involving string and a stand so you can shoot an apple off the top of you own head, only to have you kill yourself.

THAT is a darwin award, this is just an accident with a gun.

[SnaFuBAR]

I have a feeling that everyone thinks that shooting himself in the head means that he got it right between the eyes or forehead or something. It would be quite easy to accidentally shoot yourself in the head region while doing the sniper rifle melee or something similar.

[rossmum]

Why is no one (media/police) questing the fact an 11 year old was playing a Mature game (17+)?
Because restricting games and movies by age is one of the most ridiculously moronic things ever, given that I know 13-year-olds more mature and less violent than people my age. But hey, the extremist parent groups are always right, since their kids are obviously the perfect yardstick for everyone else's.

[Limited]

Im not saying I agree with age ratings. I like you think there should be some other way rather than age. But this guy is 11.

The parents didnt lock the gun up properly either.

[rossmum]

Friends of mine were playing shooters at that age and turned out fine. Age doesn't mean shit, even if they're 11.

[Limited]

You dont have the moral grasp at that sort of age, you dont fully understand the consequences. 11 to 17 is a very important part of your life, you become and adult and take on responsible.

Its the same with everything in life that has an age restriction.

This isnt just about playing a video game at 11, the parents had the audacity to let the kid use a rifle on a regular bases, a gun isnt a toy, its to kill, not injure, kill.

I dont think any one at age 11 should have the moral dilemma or responsibility of killing.

[Jarocks]

... I don't understand who would point a gun to their heads...
Idk I like the easter egg idea the best.

[p0lar_bear]

And into the anti/pro-gun war we go...

...or not.