news
Egyptian shepherd Mokhtar Adam Fadl was sleeping soundly beside his flock when he was shot dead - by one of his sheep.
The animal killed Fadl by kicking his gun and accidentally firing it, police said.
The shot hit Fadl in the chest as the 20-year-old Bedouin slept in the desert near Sidi Barrani, northwest Egypt.
Police in the district of Marsa Matrouh said they confiscated the locally made gun as it was not licensed.
They took the sheep away, but not to prison.
Note the weapon used was admitted to be a "locally made", "unlicensed" firearm. It would appear even in countries where private gun ownership is discouraged, people will arm themselves. Equally apparent is if the shepherd had access to properly manufactured firearms he would likely be alive.
This story highlights the basic irony of gun control; removing access to safe, good firearms does not result in fewer guns, but encourages the manufacture of less safe, unreliable, inaccurate arms. Making one that's safe and accurate is much harder. Manufacturer of an open-bolt, clip-fed, sub-machine gun,(a street sweeper),is easy compare to making the same arm an accurate semi-automatic, (i.e. one of those deadly "assault" rifles banned in many states). Certainly, if in a nation of limited resources and strong police presence like Egypt guns are made, what can we expect in a nation where machine tools, materials and technical resources abound ? By the way, this story comes from the UK.
Jeff Hoser
Uploaded: 3/9/2001
Uploaded: 3/9/2001