I answered questions in a live chat at Washingtonpost.com. Here's the transcript.
Monday, March 29, 2004
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.
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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