Wednesday, March 17, 2004

If Somebody Isn't Shot, It Isn't a Shooting

Those incidents in Ohio involved someone shooting a gun, but only the one in which a bullet hit a person was a shooting.

Dictionary definitions vary in their rigor about this point, but think about it: If the neighbor kid is practicing with a .22 and a tin can, do you think a series of shootings is going on next door?

So, what do you call it when a guy fires a gun into a tree or a door frame -- or, unsuccessfully, at a person? I don't have a good answer. Shooting incident isn't great, but it's better than shooting. In the Columbus case, sniper incident also works.

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