Texas State Rep. Armando Martinez was shot in the head early Sunday morning during a New Year’s celebration.

[rangerrebew]

Texas State Rep. Armando Martinez was shot in the head early Sunday morning during a New Year’s celebration.

Martinez was taken to a Brownsville-area medical center, near the Mexico border, then to a hospital where surgeons removed the bullet that had punctured his skull.

Martinez, a Democrat, said he never lost consciousness. He was reported Monday in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.

According to The Monitor, the incident happened just outside of Weslaco, which is in southern Texas, near the U.S.-Mexican border.

http://www.americasfreedomfighters.com/2017/01/02/top-democrat-lawmaker-shot/

[rangerrebew]

I'm sure democrats everywhere are appalled - appalled he didn't die so they could use it in gun control arguments.

[Wingnut]

“We have reason to believe that he was hit by a bullet that was fired into the air,”


How Third Worldish of the revelers.!

[Sanguine]

“We have reason to believe that he was hit by a bullet that was fired into the air,”


How Third Worldish of the revelers.!

Yeah, Weslaco - it's like a whole different country.

[thackney]

“We have reason to believe that he was hit by a bullet that was fired into the air,”


How Third Worldish of the revelers.!

Sadly this is common in many locations, it is not a border issue.  We always heard the gunfire in our Houston area Suburb.

This year in the rural area south of Houston, the gunfire is well mixed with actual fireworks.

[skeeter]

I believe its damn near impossible to suffer such a injury from a third of an ounce falling at its terminal velocity.

[Wingnut]

I believe its damn near impossible to suffer such a injury from a third of an ounce falling at its terminal velocity.

It must have ... Bit him directly on the but-tocks.   Million dollar wound

[skeeter]

It must have ... Bit him directly on the but-tocks.   Million dollar wound

Damn, son.

[thackney]

I believe its damn near impossible to suffer such a injury from a third of an ounce falling at its terminal velocity.

You are making an assumption about the angle of fire from the initial shot.  I've watched idiots fire their celebratory shots at less than 45°.

[Frank Cannon]

I believe its damn near impossible to suffer such a injury from a third of an ounce falling at its terminal velocity.

Your belief is wrong....

In the case of a bullet fired at a precisely vertical angle (something extremely difficult for a human being to duplicate), the bullet would tumble, lose its spin, and fall at a much slower speed due to terminal velocity and is therefore rendered less than lethal on impact. However, if a bullet is fired upward at a non-vertical angle (a far more probable possibility), it will maintain its spin and will reach a high enough speed to be lethal on impact. Because of this potentiality, firing a gun into the air is illegal in most states, and even in the states that it is legal, it is not recommended by the police. Also the MythBusters were able to identify two people who had been injured by falling bullets, one of them fatally injured.

http://mythresults.com/episode50

[skeeter]

Your belief is wrong....

http://mythresults.com/episode50

I can't answer for the dummy who fires his gun horizontally believing he's firing it into the air.

[Suppressed]

Sadly this is common in many locations, it is not a border issue.  We always heard the gunfire in our Houston area Suburb.

I met a woman near Philadelphia whose son was killed this way. Turned her into an anti-gun activist. 

[Elderberry]

I believe its damn near impossible to suffer such a injury from a third of an ounce falling at its terminal velocity.

I was up in the attic and noticed several large wooden splinters on top of my furnace. I looked above  and found a hole clean thru my roof. It looked like it must have been made by a .45. Now my roof was composition over cedar shake. I don't think it came from an aircraft shooting down.

[skeeter]

I was up in the attic and noticed several large wooden splinters on top of my furnace. I looked above  and found a hole clean thru my roof. It looked like it must have been made by a .45. Now my roof was composition over cedar shake. I don't think it came from an aircraft shooting down.

As others have mentioned here, it must've come from a gun fired at more or less a horizontal attitude.

When I think of someone celebrating by firing into the air I think of them doing it Saddam Hussein style.

[Elderberry]

As others have mentioned here, it must've come from a gun fired at more or less a horizontal attitude.

Nope. The hole thru my roof was mostly vertical.

[Neverdul]

I believe its damn near impossible to suffer such a injury from a third of an ounce falling at its terminal velocity.

10-year-old struck in New Year's celebratory shooting dies

January 03, 2013|By Justin George, The Baltimore Sun

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-01-03/news/bs-md-cecil-county-shooting-20130103_1_ajs-court-stray-bullet-celebratory

http://lancasteronline.com/news/year-old-manheim-girl-hit-by-new-year-s-eve/article_75cd58a9-dee2-5daf-a535-5c11f596f407.html

Aaliyah was struck in the top of her head by a bullet just after midnight Tuesday. She was visiting her mother, Crystal Blackburn, near Elkton, Md., for New Year's Eve and had gone outside to watch fireworks being set off by neighbors.

The shot apparently was "celebratory gunfire," said Lt. Michael Holmes, spokesman for the Cecil County Sheriff's Office.

[the_doc]

I believe its damn near impossible to suffer such a injury from a third of an ounce falling at its terminal velocity.

The terminal velocity of a falling human body is over 100 mph.  A lead slug could fall at over 200 mph.  If fired upward at an angle, the terminal velocity of a bullet could be a lot higher than 200 mph due to less tumbling when it falls all the way down.  (Anyway, a small chunk of lead falling at over 200 mph is fairly dangerous.  Fatalities do occasionally occur.)

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

I can't answer for the dummy who fires his gun horizontally believing he's firing it into the air.

You'd need a plumb bob.