Good grief: Seattle cyclist shot with pellet gun by motorist, escapes with punctured lung
My friend Shane forwarded me this article about a Seattle cyclist who was shot by a pellet gun last Thursday and now carries a bb in his lung and another in his diaphragm. He has written about this from his hospital bed in his blog.
The main thrust of the article is about the Seattle City Council’s hopes that their new bicycle master plan will help to ease tensions between cyclists and drivers. I have ridden often in Seattle, and it has always been a terrifying experience, frankly.
I was even assaulted by a driver there once. He got out of his truck and slugged me as I rode by. A city employee saw the whole thing and called the police immediately and told the driver he had his license plate number and he needed to await the police.
When the cop arrived he gave me a lecture about how cyclists bring this on themselves, made me shake hands with the driver, and sent the driver on his way.
That was many years ago, but the experience resonates with me still.
Were any readers here hit by the guy who was shooting people with a paint-ball gun a few months ago? He hit a lot of people, it seems, in his juvenile little shooting-spree.
–Erik Ryberg
November 5th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
That he made you shake hands with your assailant is absurd. Did the city employee who witnessed the assault stick around to witness the lecture?
While I have thus far escaped any form of assault (aside from the occasional lame insult tossed on the way by), a friend of mine here in Kansas City isn’t so lucky. He was riding along some country highways when the passenger of a passing pickup truck threw lit firecrackers all over and around him.
November 5th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
I was shot at on Irvington. I think it was a BB gun–the shot went just over my neck, I could feel the air as it went past. I pulled up a little ways up the hill and called the cops. They were blissfully unconcerned. No one ever got a statement from me–even though I gave them the address and description of the guy who did it.
November 5th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
I was shot a couple weeks ago at congress and I-10 at about 8pm. It was four kids in a dark green four-door saturn. It was cold that night, so the bb just hit my shoulder and bounced off, so I didn’t get the treatment this guy got, just a nasty welt. But a few inches would have been my eye and a lot more memorable. I called the cops with their plate, but I never heard if they got caught.
November 5th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
I was born and raised in Tucson and now live in Seattle. I commute to work every day by bike from West Seattle to Downtown. When I heard about this the other day I was shocked and enraged! I used to live in that part of West Seattle and it’s sort of ghetto. I’m glad I don’t now. For the most part Seattle has been a great place for me to ride my bike. On the other hand I had rocks thrown at me in South Tucson, but there I was riding my bike in a bad neighborhood again.
November 6th, 2007 at 10:22 am
I was shot by a BB gun on St. Mary’s near I-10 several years ago. Close range, hurt like hell, no permanent damage. Cops weren’t interested (of course).