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Buckshot Wrecks Tall Ships' Battle Reenactment

Crew member accidentally loads cannon with live ammo, not blanks

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 13, 2012 11:38 AM CDT

(Newser) – A pair of tall ships staged a mock battle Saturday night that could have used a little more "mock" and a little less "battle." Their cannons were supposed to be using blanks, which somehow got lost in execution when an Amazing Grace crew member accidentally loaded one with buckshot. The result: injuries to a passenger and a deckhand, the Los Angeles Times reports. The too-real battle took place off California's Dana Point.

"It was like a scene from The Exorcist," says a woman aboard the Bill of Rights. "I started to bleed in several different areas." Her lower body was hit five times, and the wounds were so deep that doctors advised simply leaving the buckshot there. But she harbors no ill will toward the other ship's crew, she says. "They're really nice people. They never would have wanted to harm anyone."

This Sept. 7 photo shows the ship Bill of Rights off Dana Point, Calif. Two people suffered minor injuries Saturday, when buckshot was loaded into a cannon on the Amazing Grace.
This Sept. 7 photo shows the ship Bill of Rights off Dana Point, Calif. Two people suffered minor injuries Saturday, when buckshot was loaded into a cannon on the Amazing Grace.   (AP Photo/The Orange County Register, Leonard Ortiz)
This Sept. 7 photo shows the Washington state-based Amazing Grace.
This Sept. 7 photo shows the Washington state-based Amazing Grace.   (AP Photo/The Orange County Register, Leonard Ortiz)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
HarryBeaver
Sep 13, 2012 4:32 PM CDT
The drew was nicely peppered
jke
Sep 13, 2012 2:40 PM CDT
is this another example of human error,ignorance...or should we (as usual) blame the NRA.
Mad
Sep 13, 2012 12:51 PM CDT
"But she harbors no ill will toward the other ship's crew, she says. "They're really nice people. They never would have wanted to harm anyone." All across America, lawyers weep.
 

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