If you hadn’t heard a man in Salem shot himself in the basement of a home that exploded. Searchers discovered some weapons, obviously. And while the media has reported on the explosion, the suicide, the man’s debts, a few booby traps, the opinions of neighbors, and other circumstances, the weapons are featured in most if not all the reporting, amplified this morning by the Union Leader headline (c/o NewHampshire.com), “Police: Armed to teeth, Salem homeowner killed himself.”
Did they, and was he? No, and no.
At least I don’t think the police said that.
Nowhere in the article is any officer from any department quoted as saying the victim was ‘armed to the teeth.’ But here is what they did find.
[su_quote]When they found Hill, Dolan said, “He had one handgun holstered in a holster on his hip, he had a shoulder holster that was empty, and that handgun was found between his legs. And he also had a rifle between his legs.” Hill also had two knives and 136 rounds of ammunition for the three firearms with him; investigators found more than 1,700 rounds of ammunition elsewhere in the home.[/su_quote]
Sounds more like a day or two at the range to me, which tells us that the author and editor are either ignorant about firearms or are better suited to work at a tabloid. “Priest Explodes During Exorcism!”
It could be a little of both.
But it’s not just them. Several of the stories I skimmed on this event featured details early in the story about the weapons found near the body or in the home, and a quantity of ammunition that would make the average law-abiding gun owner label the deceased a piker.
That’s just what’s in my sock drawer, they might say.
If you don’t believe me, take a firearms class. Ask a friend to bring you to the range with them. Watch how quickly even a rank amateur plows through ammo like Rosie O’Donnell at Buffet King.
Is it journalistic malpractice, no? Hyperbole is a useful device, and most print media is struggling to keep its head above water. But in the future, when the newspaper with the largest circulation in the state leads with a headline that says “Police: Armed to the teeth, Salem homeowner killed himself,” this amateur suggests that the body of text include a quote from police that includes the words armed to the teeth.
Or would you like to be accused of lying through your teeth?
