This isn’t The Onion. This is real life. Other sites are reporting it.
I suspect Carson’s hunting buddy is so upset he won’t even be able to attend his next Mensa meeting.
Carson Ryan, 17, died last Saturday after being mistaken for a squirrel on a hunting trip. He was shot in the back of the head by someone in his own hunting party who thought his head was a squirrel.
This article has a picture of him, you can see it was an easy mistake to make.
Terrible for the family, grist for those with less than total empathy with hunters.
I was in no mood to trifle, I took down my trusty rifle
And went out to stalk my prey
What a haul I made that day
Good grief.
This is why saner gun laws are needed. I can’t think of any 17yo I’d trust with a gun, more than a paint ball gun.
The mistaken for animal hunting accidents happen all the time. Every year during deer season we hear about 2 or 3 locally.
They violated one of Col. Jeff Cooper’s Four Safety Rules for gun handling:
Treat all guns as if they are loaded.
Never point a gun at anything you aren’t willing to kill or destroy.
Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
Be certain of your target and what is around and behind it.
He probably should have chosen a better hunting outfit.
… Forgive me God 
…
To be honest, I had no idea people actually go on hunting trips for squirrels.
Seems like a convenient excuse for getting rid of your less desirable “friends”. It almost worked for Dick Cheney…
They call it “fragging” in the military.
Note to self: do not have a ponytail when going squirrel hunting with my friends
Instead wear a coonskin cap when going racoon hunting.
I always feel bad for the grieving family of people who died in a ridiculous way, or any way that is going to lead to internet mockery. You can’t properly grieve when your loved one has become a punch line.
I owned my first rifle at age 12. The first rule of hunting was “Make sure of your target. If you’re not 100% sure, do not pull the trigger” (or what Crafterman said). Also, we didn’t wear camo like everyone does today. It’s foolish and dangerous in my opinion.
This is a child who died, and I’m not sure memifying it with silly jokes is a great idea.
Comedy is one of the ways we cope with tragedy.
sure, that’s what you’re doing here, “coping”…these jokes are in pretty bad taste in my opinion
It’s also a way that people who aren’t affected by a tragedy trivialize it. I’ma go out on a limb and say that none of Carson Ryan’s relatives and friends are making AIslop graphics of him wearing a silly squirrel suit.
A very high majority of comedy is based on pain, either physical or emotional. Without it, the pain eats away without release.
I give a hearty thank you to the person (your dad?) who instructed you.
Just stop with this BS please. No one posting on this board feels the slightest tinge of pain related to this shooting. They’re making tasteless jokes at the expense of a stranger.