Red Sox Fan Killed

[Snap Dragon]

Red Sox Fan Killed by Police Projectile

By GREG SUKIENNIK http://channels.netscape.com/fotosrch/2 ... 1BX106.jpg
BOSTON (AP) - A college student celebrating the Red Sox come-from-behind victory over the New York Yankees was killed after a police officer called in to control the rowdy crowd shot her in the eye with what was designed to be a non-lethal projectile.

Fifteen other people, including a police officer, suffered minor injuries in Boston's Kenmore Square neighborhood early Thursday, after thousands of baseball fans spilled onto the streets near Fenway Park to celebrate the Red Sox winning the American League pennant at Yankee Stadium.

Boston's mayor said he was considering banning alcohol sales in the city during the World Series to avoid a repeat of the rowdiness.

Victoria Snelgrove, a 21-year-old journalism major at Emerson College, was hit by a projectile fired by an officer on crowd-control duty. Snelgrove, of East Bridgewater, died of a head injury at Brigham and Women's Hospital later in the day.

Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole said officers were using projectiles ``designed to break upon impact, dousing the target with (pepper-like) spray.''

``While I firmly and emphatically accept responsibilities for any errors,'' O'Toole said at a news conference Thursday, ``I also condemn in the harshest words possible the actions of the punks (Wednesday) night who turned our city's victory into an opportunity for violence and mindless destruction.''

O'Toole and Mayor Thomas Menino pledged to fully investigate. Menino said he will seek cooperation from city colleges, bars in the Fenway Park neighborhood and the Boston Red Sox to help prevent future disturbances. He said he would press colleges to expel students found guilty of criminal conduct in the melee.

Rick Snelgrove expressed outrage and said his daughter did nothing wrong. Standing outside the family home, he held up a photograph of his smiling daughter.

``What happened to her should not happen to any American citizen going to any type of game, no matter what,'' he said. ``She loved the Red Sox. She went in to celebrate with friends. She was a bystander. She was out of the way, but she still got shot. Awful things happen to good people. My daughter was an exceptional person.''

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he was considering prohibiting liquor sales and asking bar and restaurant operators to ban live television coverage during games to curb the rowdiness. ``Since people won't accept responsibility, I, as mayor, will take it into my own hands,'' Menino said Thursday.

Menino planned to meet with bar and nightclub owners Friday. He said he was considering invoking a state law, never before used in Boston, that would allow him to ban the sale or distribution of alcohol ``in cases of riot or great public excitement.''

Early Thursday, several small fires were set and numerous fights broke out. Boston police reported eight arrests, mostly for disorderly conduct, though one arrest was for assault and battery on a police officer.

City officials had announced there would be a heavy police presence in Kenmore Square for the history-making victory by the Red Sox, who came back from 3-0 deficit to advance to the World Series.

The city had been caught understaffed when riots broke out after the New England Patriots' Super Bowl win Feb. 1, when one person was killed and another critically injured when a vehicle plowed into a crowd of revelers.

Elsewhere Thursday, 29 people were arrested at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst after revelers threw beer cans and flaming toilet paper at police. And at the university's Dartmouth campus, about 2,000 people had to be dispersed by police using stun grenades.

In New Hampshire, police made about 15 disorderly conduct arrests as crowds swarmed the campus of Plymouth State University and surrounding neighborhoods.

[Mother Mo]

It apparently required a sacrifice to end the curse, I suppose.

[Mercurygriffin]

banning alchohol in response to someone with bad aim shooting someone in the eye with a rubber bullet resulting in their death. How about not shooting people with them and maybe sense sports tend to casue riots cancel them too.

[B_Ko]

A sack of pepper spray to the eye...

Shit.

[Scorptrio]

I heard an interview with the Boston Chief of Police. The reporter asked him if he believed that police had acted to harshly. He answered "The police didn't act harshly enough!" What?! Maybe 2 or 3 dead innocent teen girls would have made him happy about it.

This is a pre-view of the Police State to come. Get used to it. Soon enough, National Guard and Army units will be ordered to fire live ammunition at civilian crowds just looking for food for their families.

"I won't shoot innocent people who just want something to eat!" - The Running Man

"Kill dem. Kill dem all." - The Governator

"The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles
to vote." - Kosh

[Kamivox]

When I first saw this post I was wondering what angle it was intended for. Was it to show the abuse and illogical reasoning of authoritative power or the stupidity of mob mentality? Probably both, but I ended up focusing on the latter. Quite often, many in the US watch mobscenes on TV from third world countries cheering, burning things, and shooting guns in the air and most react by thinking, "what a bunch of crazed lunatics, at least people here in the States are civilized." I can't tell how much that hypocritical thinking bothers me. Every year it seems there's a place or two where the home team wins a championship and it results in people taking to the streets, knocking cars over, breaking store glass windows, and setting things on fire. I think it's more plausible to be passionately enraged over philosophical and political matters than it is over a sports team.

Nevertheless, it's terrible for the family and friends of the girl who was killed. No doubt there should be a suit against the city and changes made in the next election. As well, those responsible for destroying property should be footed the bill. I'd be extremely displeased if anyone damaged my stuff over a damn sporting event.

[Kamivox]

banning alchohol in response to someone with bad aim shooting someone in the eye with a rubber bullet resulting in their death. How about not shooting people with them and maybe sense sports tend to casue riots cancel them too.

You bring up a good point. There's no end to people wanting to ban video games, musical acts, roleplaying, etc. on grounds that they 'supposedly' encourage violent behaviour. However, no one ever talks about banning sporting events and I think it can be argued that they incite this 'supposed' aggressive violent behaviour as well.