The Air National Guard warplane, flying a night training mission out of Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, fired a burst of 27 rounds from its 20-millimeter cannon shortly before 10:15 p.m. as it streaked over Little Egg Harbor Township, 20 miles north of Atlantic City, New Jersey military officials said last night.
Col. Brian Webster, commander of the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, said that the pilot, who was not identified, fired the cannon inadvertently just as he turned into a dive to strafe a target at the Warren Grove firing range in Ocean County, a sprawling military reservation in the Pine Barrens that has been used for bombing and strafing practice since World War II.
...Yesterday...custodians arriving at the school found 13 cannon slugs - 5 in a parking lot and 8 inside the school in various classrooms and offices, said Fred Zimmerman, the director of instructional services.
The police said there were holes in the roof and in the ceilings and floors of several classrooms, a hallway and an office. At least one desk was hit, ceiling tiles had fallen in some classrooms, and there were scratch marks on the building's brick exterior.
...In January 2002, a New Jersey Air National Guard jet crashed near the Garden State Parkway, but the pilot parachuted safely, and no one was injured. In June 2001, an F-16 on practice run dropped a 25-pound smoke bomb that burned 1,600 acres of pine forests in Ocean County. And in 1999, another bombing run went awry and 11,000 acres of pine forests burned.
articleCol. Brian Webster, commander of the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, said that the pilot, who was not identified, fired the cannon inadvertently just as he turned into a dive to strafe a target at the Warren Grove firing range in Ocean County, a sprawling military reservation in the Pine Barrens that has been used for bombing and strafing practice since World War II.
...Yesterday...custodians arriving at the school found 13 cannon slugs - 5 in a parking lot and 8 inside the school in various classrooms and offices, said Fred Zimmerman, the director of instructional services.
The police said there were holes in the roof and in the ceilings and floors of several classrooms, a hallway and an office. At least one desk was hit, ceiling tiles had fallen in some classrooms, and there were scratch marks on the building's brick exterior.
...In January 2002, a New Jersey Air National Guard jet crashed near the Garden State Parkway, but the pilot parachuted safely, and no one was injured. In June 2001, an F-16 on practice run dropped a 25-pound smoke bomb that burned 1,600 acres of pine forests in Ocean County. And in 1999, another bombing run went awry and 11,000 acres of pine forests burned.
Well see, I can only assume he really wasn't intending to the school. And so, for the umpteenth time, maybe we need to take guns away from men. ?
Colonel Webster said the incident yesterday was under investigation by the Pentagon and state officials. "We have no idea why the gun went off," he said.
Clueless. Not too bright, are we?
I'm thinking about how they feel in Iraq where we're missing a few targets. Greg at The Talent Show comments...
If you look at our 10% failure rate, the prospect of 100,000 dead Iraqi civilians doesn't seem so implausible, does it? Now that we're hitting American schools too, maybe it would be a good time to shed new light on that virtually-ignored statistic from last week.
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