stupid news story: Woman thinks prosthetic leg is assault rifle and phones it in

[Cesiumsponge]

Apparently, people have been conditioned to think any unidentified long gun is automatically an "assault weapon". In fact, any unidentified long object is now apparently an assault weapon unless proven otherwise. That includes fake legs. That's so incredibly upsetting that people are calling anything assault rifles without even knowing what one is. :banghead::banghead::banghead:

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- The woman suspected foul play was afoot.

She was half right.

Police barricaded streets near the south campus branch of St. Joseph Hospital after a woman called to report a man with an assault rifle walking into a medical office building. The assault rifle turned out to be a prosthetic leg, Bellingham Police Deputy Chief David Doll said.

The Chestnut Professional Building was locked down as police conducted a floor-by-floor search. When no suspect was found, police evacuated the building and the woman who reported the incident spotted the office worker who had carried the prosthetic leg, The Bellingham Herald reported.

"Everyone did everything right," Doll said. "Like we hoped, it turned out go be a good situation today."

The building houses offices for Whatcom Alliance for Healthcare Access, St. Joseph Hospital Foundation and Whatcom Hospice Foundation, among others.

Responding agencies included the Whatcom County sheriff's office, Western Washington University Police and Washington State Patrol responded to the scene. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter patrolled the area to check the building's rooftop.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_BRF_Leg_Scare.html

 

[Sage of Seattle]

Sorry, C, looks like someone beat you to it.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=279429

Probably should shake a leg on over there to that thread, huh?

 

[ArmedBear]

It would be even worse, however, if you had a few too many and thought that your rifle was your prosthetic leg.

 

[rkh]

 

[Kharn]

I guess it depends on the leg (thats a Magpul M93 stock)...

Kharn

 

[Pax Jordana]

I actually had a scare like that once at work. Except instead of an assault rifle, I thought he might've had a dead [EDIT: er.. woman] in his trunk

He had two prosthetic legs, paired in color, with high heels on each. He didn't catch me circling around behind him til I said hello. Turned out to be a prosthetics company rep. I told him his legs looked very real.

"Everyone did everything right,"

excepting of course the woman who managed to waste a ton of taxpayer dollars over a fake leg.


If hunters identified their targets with the same success rate that antis identify theirs, you'd never see me out in the woods without kevlar and some high ground support.

 

[El Tejon]

I like how Chief Wiggum turns their buffonery into some sort of positive training experience.

No, Chief Wiggum, all you did is expose how easy your police department can be fooled and be made to look like fools. If I'm robbing a bank, I would call in all sorts of "man with gun" calls on the other side of the city while your keystone kops run around in circles.

 

[Michigander]

dupe: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=3421056&posted=1#post3421056

 

[hksw]

The woman suspected foul play was afoot.

Oh cripes, that's gold.

 

[Kaylee]

as noted, duplicate.