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URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/santafe/227430north_news09-22-04.htm
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
2 Attacks Prompt Focus on Blowguns
By Jeremy Pawloski
Journal Northern Bureau
SANTA FE— At Tina's Range Gear, employees of the Airport Road gun shop sometimes pass the time shooting darts through blowguns at the stuffed game animals that hang from the walls.
"They're fun," owner Tina Buchen said of the blowguns. "It's like shooting darts or horseshoes or a BB gun."
Buchen's employees use nothing but their breath to send a metal dart— which can measure up to four inches long— flying 15 to 20 feet at a stuffed monkey perched in a corner of the store.
But blowguns recently have been used for less fanciful purposes in Santa Fe, making them the City Different's latest public safety issue.
Anita Lucio, a 16-year-old Capital High student, suffered a collapsed lung when she was struck with a blow dart while walking on Guadalupe Street Sept. 9, shortly after the annual burning of Zozobra.
On the same day, an Ortiz Middle School student was shot in the stomach with one of the darts.
After the dart shootings, Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano proposed a county ordinance making it illegal to sell blow dart guns— or any other kind of novelty weapon such as throw stars or swords— to persons under 18 years old.
The county also is considering an ordinance to make it illegal to carry blow dart guns in public places, Solano said.
Lucio's older sister, Eliza Alberico, said Tuesday that Anita has completely recovered from her collapsed lung.
Alberico also said she and her family would support any kind of ban on blowguns.
"They're dangerous," said Alberico. "They almost cost (Lucio) her life. If they would have hit her any higher it would have hit her heart."
Solano said it's important to send a message that blow dart guns are dangerous weapons and should not be sold to children. If blow darts can penetrate far enough to collapse a lung, they can also strike other vital organs, Solano added.
"They are dangerous," Solano said. "They're weapons, not toys. It could strike your heart, and it would cause death."
Blowguns apparently aren't a new problem. Solano said that when he was a detective about 12 years ago, he used to take dart guns away from young gangbangers.
Santa Fe city officials also are considering some type of ordinance to make possession of dart guns a crime, said Assistant City Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco.
Pacheco said some Web sites appear to advertise blowguns as hunting weapons.
"Well, if it's for hunting, that means to kill something," she said.
Buchen, of Tina's Range Gear, said one customer at her store who bought a blowgun said he intended to use the weapon to hunt birds.
Buchen added that her store already has strict rules on selling any type of weapon to juveniles.
"We don't sell BB guns, blowguns, or anything to children under 18, unless their parents are in here," she said.
Smitty Wasserman, an employee at The Outdoorsman of Santa Fe, a gun and sporting goods shop at DeVargas Mall, said banning blow dart guns won't necessarily stop people from using them improperly.
"You can ban an inanimate object until the cows come home," Wasserman said. "You can't ban malice or the will to create mayhem in someone's heart."
Wasserman added that banning blowguns will not hurt his store's business.
"If I have to stop selling them tomorrow, fine," he said.
The Outdoorsman had darts for sale during a recent visit, but the guns themselves weren't available. Darts being sold at the shop included spearhead darts, with long tips; spike darts, with short tips; and stun darts, with plastic tips.
Wasserman said that at The Outdoorsman, he won't sell any kind of weapon like bows and arrows, or blowguns and darts to children under 15 or 16 without a parent present.
Other stores in Santa Fe that sell weapons, including WalMart and Big 5 on Cerrillos Road, did not have blowguns or darts for sale when checked this week.
Buchen, who keeps her store's blowgun in a rear office, said Tuesday that Tina's has sold darts and blowguns in the past but doesn't currently have any in stock.
But local store owners in Santa Fe say darts and blowguns are found in mail-order catalogs and the Internet. One Web site claims that different sized blowguns have ranges from 30 feet to 210 feet.
"All of this stuff's easily available on the Internet," Wasserman said.
Wasserman and Buchen both said that whoever has been shooting blow darts at people should be severely punished.
"They ought to throw the book at him," Wasserman said.
Copyright 2004 Albuquerque Journal Click for commercial reprint permission (PRC# 3.4676.227430)
URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/santafe/227430north_news09-22-04.htm
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
2 Attacks Prompt Focus on Blowguns
By Jeremy Pawloski
Journal Northern Bureau
SANTA FE— At Tina's Range Gear, employees of the Airport Road gun shop sometimes pass the time shooting darts through blowguns at the stuffed game animals that hang from the walls.
"They're fun," owner Tina Buchen said of the blowguns. "It's like shooting darts or horseshoes or a BB gun."
Buchen's employees use nothing but their breath to send a metal dart— which can measure up to four inches long— flying 15 to 20 feet at a stuffed monkey perched in a corner of the store.
But blowguns recently have been used for less fanciful purposes in Santa Fe, making them the City Different's latest public safety issue.
Anita Lucio, a 16-year-old Capital High student, suffered a collapsed lung when she was struck with a blow dart while walking on Guadalupe Street Sept. 9, shortly after the annual burning of Zozobra.
On the same day, an Ortiz Middle School student was shot in the stomach with one of the darts.
After the dart shootings, Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano proposed a county ordinance making it illegal to sell blow dart guns— or any other kind of novelty weapon such as throw stars or swords— to persons under 18 years old.
The county also is considering an ordinance to make it illegal to carry blow dart guns in public places, Solano said.
Lucio's older sister, Eliza Alberico, said Tuesday that Anita has completely recovered from her collapsed lung.
Alberico also said she and her family would support any kind of ban on blowguns.
"They're dangerous," said Alberico. "They almost cost (Lucio) her life. If they would have hit her any higher it would have hit her heart."
Solano said it's important to send a message that blow dart guns are dangerous weapons and should not be sold to children. If blow darts can penetrate far enough to collapse a lung, they can also strike other vital organs, Solano added.
"They are dangerous," Solano said. "They're weapons, not toys. It could strike your heart, and it would cause death."
Blowguns apparently aren't a new problem. Solano said that when he was a detective about 12 years ago, he used to take dart guns away from young gangbangers.
Santa Fe city officials also are considering some type of ordinance to make possession of dart guns a crime, said Assistant City Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco.
Pacheco said some Web sites appear to advertise blowguns as hunting weapons.
"Well, if it's for hunting, that means to kill something," she said.
Buchen, of Tina's Range Gear, said one customer at her store who bought a blowgun said he intended to use the weapon to hunt birds.
Buchen added that her store already has strict rules on selling any type of weapon to juveniles.
"We don't sell BB guns, blowguns, or anything to children under 18, unless their parents are in here," she said.
Smitty Wasserman, an employee at The Outdoorsman of Santa Fe, a gun and sporting goods shop at DeVargas Mall, said banning blow dart guns won't necessarily stop people from using them improperly.
"You can ban an inanimate object until the cows come home," Wasserman said. "You can't ban malice or the will to create mayhem in someone's heart."
Wasserman added that banning blowguns will not hurt his store's business.
"If I have to stop selling them tomorrow, fine," he said.
The Outdoorsman had darts for sale during a recent visit, but the guns themselves weren't available. Darts being sold at the shop included spearhead darts, with long tips; spike darts, with short tips; and stun darts, with plastic tips.
Wasserman said that at The Outdoorsman, he won't sell any kind of weapon like bows and arrows, or blowguns and darts to children under 15 or 16 without a parent present.
Other stores in Santa Fe that sell weapons, including WalMart and Big 5 on Cerrillos Road, did not have blowguns or darts for sale when checked this week.
Buchen, who keeps her store's blowgun in a rear office, said Tuesday that Tina's has sold darts and blowguns in the past but doesn't currently have any in stock.
But local store owners in Santa Fe say darts and blowguns are found in mail-order catalogs and the Internet. One Web site claims that different sized blowguns have ranges from 30 feet to 210 feet.
"All of this stuff's easily available on the Internet," Wasserman said.
Wasserman and Buchen both said that whoever has been shooting blow darts at people should be severely punished.
"They ought to throw the book at him," Wasserman said.
Copyright 2004 Albuquerque Journal Click for commercial reprint permission (PRC# 3.4676.227430)
