Paperweight Severs Calif. Teacher's Hand

[Lord Moon]

I thought to be a teacher, you had to be smart.

Paperweight Severs Calif. Teacher's Hand

Tue Apr 4, 7:05 PM ET

VENTURA, Calif. - A teacher who kept a 40 mm shell on his desk as a paperweight blew off part of his hand when he apparently used the object to try to squash a bug, authorities say.

The 5-inch-long shell exploded Monday while Robert Colla was teaching 20 to 25 students at an adult education class.

Part of Colla's right hand was severed and he suffered severe burns and minor shrapnel wounds to his forearms and torso, fire Capt. Tom Weinell said. No one else was injured. He was reported in stable condition at a hospital.

The teacher slammed the shell down in an attempt to kill something that was buzzing or crawling across the desk, said Fire Marshal Glen Albright.

Colla found the 40 mm round while hunting years ago and "obviously he didn't think the round was live," said Dennis Huston, who teaches computer design alongside Colla.


Story Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060404/ap_on_re_us/paperweight_explosion_2)

[Burr]

Oh man. No kid with a cell phone video of that? LOL. I can't believe they let him take that to school to begin with..

[Ichiban]

wow, I guess he knows now that if you find a 40 mm round while hunting it is most likely live. Next time go to a gun show and buy one full of sand if you want a paper weight

[Rayo]

The lesson here. If you wanna use things that explode as paperweight. Use C4.

[EvilWall]

Dumb, how dumb can you get? I mean, wouldn't any person with common sense assume a round is live if it still has the projectile inside the casing?

[SageClaw]

Oh man. No kid with a cell phone video of that? LOL. I can't believe they let him take that to school to begin with.. While I agree kids shouldn't have cell phones in the class... I would have paid good money to the kid that broke that rule for that video.

I mean I have heard "I didn't know the gun was loaded." line before... but damn, what a moron.

Like my momma always said "It's all fun and games till someone loses an eye.... DON'T YOU ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME!!! OR I WILL GIVE YOU A FRESH ONE ACROSS THE MOUTH!!"

Wait a mintue... what was I talking about?

[Rayo]

Like my momma always said "It's all fun and games till someone loses an eye.... DON'T YOU ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME!!! OR I WILL GIVE YOU A FRESH ONE ACROSS THE MOUTH!!"


+++Rep

My grandma said the same thing to me so many fucking times.

and she did haha

[Blank]

I enjoy a good accident.

[Wildarms7000]

I wonder if he squished the fly.

[EvilWall]

I wonder if he squished the fly.

The fly lost a wing and suffered shrapnel damage to it's lower thorax.

[All-Night John]

Those students are lucky. That would be the most awesome thing I've ever seen.

[arefx]

what a moron... so he finds a shotgun shell on the ground OUTSIDE when hunting... ok everyone knows once you fire it, the shells gunna look fucked up, not nice and new.

[Mr.Wuggles]

o kewl, California

[Fang]

From the sound of things, only the propellant went off, or it was a training round. if the warhead went off the result would have probably been a dead teacher + 4-5 dead students. last time i checked, an m433 had a casualty radius of 5 meters, not to mention penetrate 2 in of steel.

[Emptythought]

saw this in the newspaper

i lol'd, and agree that i want to know if he squished the fly.

[quashpdarkman]

I thought to be a teacher, you had to be smart.

Not in California

[Badass Penguin]

"Oh look, a bullet. I don't know if it's live or not, but it'd make a handy-dandy paperweight!"

[Emptythought]

Not in California
o, not in any public education _anywhere_