Cops Probe Death of Boy Killed By Toy Cannon

[kong]

Cops Probe Death of Boy Killed By Toy Cannon
Utah cops are trying to determine what triggered a tiny replica cannon to fire something into the face of a 14-year-old boy, killing him. "We're waiting for the autopsy," said Joyce Hansen, administrative assistant to the chief of police in Tremonton, Utah. She said it might take weeks, depending on the workload of the state medical examiner's office in Salt Lake City. Robby Ostberg died Monday when the replicate 18th century cannon he was holding fired accidentally, a police press release said. According to the release, Ostberg had been playing video games with his 16-year-old brother when the cannon erupted. He was dead when police arrived, the release said. The release said the cannon was a .50-caliber weapon designed to be fired with black powder. Police did not know what type of propellant may have been in the cannon Monday or if there had been a projectile in it, police said. Robby Ostberg often filled the cannon with black powder and fired tinfoil balls out of it, Cameron Kunsman, who called Robby his best friend, told the Deseret News.
Trever Steinlicht, a neighbor, said cannons like the Ostbergs' could send a projectile through a wall or kill "small game," ABC4 said. They are known to go off accidentally, he said. "All it takes is for something to slip and the hammer to drop on it and it will go boom," Steinlicht said. There is legal confusion over whether the miniature cannons are decorations, toys or firearms, according to a blog post by legal scholar Jonathan Turley.
"Utah laws are silent on replica firearms and antique firearms," he notes. If the cannon that killed Ostberg was designed to fire a .50-caliber round, Turley asks, should it be treated as a firearm and should it come with warnings and a safety lock, he asks. Ostberg's father, Allen Ostberg, was home at the time of the accident, the release said. A relative told ABC4 Salt Lake City that Ostberg was an Army veteran who had guns in the home, but he locked them and taught his sons gun safety.
link to video
http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/cops-probe-death-boy-killed-toy-cannon-221230562--abc-news.html

[Oldschool]

If it can cause that type of damage it definitely needs a safety lock

[kong]

it needs to be put away under lock and key

[kennethB]

There was a toy cannon that ended the life of 14-year-old Tremonton, Utah, teen Robby Ostberg Monday, reports Deseret News. While tinkering with the little machine, obstruction brought on the cannon to either blow up or fire a tin foil projectile into the boy's face. Funeral preparations are presently being prepared. Resource for this article: 14-year-old boy killed by toy cannon. This is really a sad story. The death of any child is tragic especially when a child dies suddenly and unexpectedly. It is important to begin educating children at an early age regarding what to do if he or she sees an unfamiliar object in or around the home.

[BarrowW]

This is really a sad news. A toy cannon concluded the life of 14-year-old Tremonton, Utah, teen Robby Ostberg last Monday, reports Deseret News. 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. While trying out the little system, obstruction brought on the cannon to either explode or fire a tin foil projectile to the boy's face. The 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 but the boy's father didn't know Ostberg had access to gunpowder. Source of article: 14-year-old boy killed by toy cannon. I'm wondering why they just let the boy have that gunpowder knowing that it is dangerous especially for someone who doesn't know how to use it. Poor boy. His life ended like this.

[billyhall]

Well, it is said that the cannon exploded without warning while the boy is trying to find the source which was preventing the cannon from working.

[Joker]

A toy that fires .50 caliber rounds?! That's not a toy. That's a freakin' deathtrap! Things like that should be outlawed to prevent accidents like this from happening. I think such toys are actually outlawed.

I remember that because there were actually safety regulations against one of the toys from the original Transformers series. The toy in question is the G1 Megatron figure. It's mainly because the figures alternate mode was a Walther P-38 pistol.

It was totally outlawed in Australia and you had to have a special license to own one in Canada.