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news
Hunting rifle (licensed CC BY ND 2.0 on Flickr by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources).jpgCyclist killed as bullet fired by hunter ricochets off tree, say police
A man cycling home from a fishing trip in Poland has been killed by a bullet fired from a high-velocity rifle a hunter was aiming at a deer – with the projectile passing through the animal, ricocheting, and travelling a further 300 metres before hitting the rider in the head.
The victim, named by police as Paweł P, aged 57, was usually out all night when he went fishing, but on October 25 he decided to return to his home in Wybranówka early, with tragic consequences, reports SE.pl.
He was found on the roadside close to some woods, with paramedics initially believing that he had been the victim of a hit and run incident, but as they fought to save his life in the ambulance they discovered the gunshot wound to his head and called the police.
Officers discovered that hunters had been active in the area at the time, with ballistics experts establishing that the bullet had come from a high-powered rifle belonging to 21-year-old Jakub S, a member of a local hunting club and said to be experienced in handling the weapon.
It appears that the bullet, fired from a rifle with a range of between 6 and 7 kilometres, passed through the deer that the hunter was taking aim at, ricocheted off a tree, then continued for 300 metres and hit the victim, said police spokesman Andrzej Borowiak.
The man who fired the fatal shot has said he may never take up arms again, according to fellow members of his hunting club, and he may face manslaughter charges depending on the outcome of the police investigation.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- dubwise 15 min 4 sec ago
Polis Scotland as much use as a fart in a spacesuit....
- Blackthorne 32 min 5 sec ago
How is this even possible unless the driver was completely not paying any attention to the road. What a depressing waste.
- Rendel Harris 51 min 33 sec ago
According to the various sources I've seen it was rather the other way about: they'd already decided to give him the lifetime achievement award and...
- Mr Blackbird 1 hour 40 min ago
Readers may be interested to hear that the war was started when the Greek philosopher Idsius (who Plato later described as a bit of a numpty)...
- chrisonabike 1 hour 56 min ago
As HP says - impact assessments are local. And always depend on the behaviour of motorists in the overall area....
- Sredlums 2 hours 24 min ago
You are way overthinking this. It's for people who want something else than the same old same old. That's all....
- mdavidford 3 hours 23 min ago
Not quite sure what one of those is, and not sure I want to know. Fortunately, that particular Sky/Ineos scandal seems to have passed me by.
- mdavidford 3 hours 43 min ago
On the plus side, you wouldn't ever catch one of them riding through a red light...
- nick h. 3 hours 49 min ago
Will you be getting a Fizik? It sounds promising.
- Sriracha 4 hours 5 min ago
How is "USB Charging" a plus, when it's micro-USB?
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17 comments
Having shot one of these rifles in a range in Poland I think they need a large calibre round to ensure a humane kill as they shot boar which by my understanding take some stopping.
Also I observed a hunt once and the one I was on was run very safely....tragic accident.
One guy on London to Paris 24hr in 2011 got shot in the arse with an air rifle.
Ricochets from full bore rounds have a ton of energy left in them. I used to be an FAC holder and the sound of a .308 bullet hitting the concrete mantle a few feet above your head and ricocheting out to sea is a very scary noise.
What has this got to do with cycling?
It is a good idea to remember where you're riding and when your're riding. Having lived in rural parts of Suffolk, I know hunting is quite popular there and it is very unnerving to hear a shot fired in the distance. Now living back in the US, dear hunting is going on and I've had to be aware of that having seen deer and hunters out on rides. With that, I bow hunt. Just saying, things like this don't happen with a bow.
BIG TAKE-AWAY: Always be aware of your surroundings and I recommend Hi-Viz if you're going to ride through an area popular with hunters.
Not that it matters much but the vitcim's name is Paweł P. not Pawła P. and the shooter's is Jakub S.
Polish language is tricky like that.
Funnily enough, I read your comment about 30 seconds after checking with a Polish friend about the names because it had been nagging me since yesterday ... Polish nouns (including proper names) decline, will watch out for that in future
I was fully expecting this to be from the US, but whatever; I am not sure why we need to keep hearing about gun incidents in other countries. Their regulation are not under our control. The next school shooting is not news, it's an inevitability.
I could give Road.cc a good story about almost taking a round when I was out for a ride in rural Texas; caused my wife to crash and while I'm trying to get her off the road there's more rounds flying overhead. Got a lift to the local EMS from a group of good Samaritans (Mexicans as it happens; thought they were all robbers and rapists) and the local sheriff was called. He seemed to think it was our fault for being out there on our bikes in the first place; it was like one of those movies when you get stuck in the small town and never escape!
Turns out it was a private gun range, owned by an attorney from Austin, nicely lined-up with the road with insufficient banking to stop the rounds and he was hosting a bachelor party where everyone had their own AR-15 and unlimited ammo; what could possibly go wrong?!!!
Why on earth would you need a rifle for hunting with a range of *kilometres*? Or so high powered? In this case, demonstrably far too powerful... Poor bloke.
I suspect this is extreme carrying range within which it might remain dangerous, not usable
range.
I don't get it either. Only smooth bored firearms that have 200m maximum range should be allowed. Anything else is like firing with a cannons.
surely you mean 600 to 700 meters? as not even .338 lapua or .50BMG can't reach more than 3Km on a good day, but bloody hell the poor guy.
There is range and there is effective range.
The bullet may be able to reach 6/7 km but it may only have enough energy left to cause a slight bruise if it hit you, though I'm not willing to test that.
In the UK it is drilled into you to assess what would happen if you miss or have a ricochet when shooting at a target or prey.
If there is potential risk for the bullet/ pellets to go out of the property you are shooting on, or expose someone on the property to risk from fire, then you shouldn't pull the trigger.
If you can't take time over a shot and are prepared not to fire then you are a poor shooter.
Dottigirl - contact the local firearms officer for the force serving Box Hill and complain to him.
Jeez! sympathy all round on this one, shooter will need support, fella's family too. RIP.
My group were showered by shot going up Juniper (Lodgebottom Rd - next to Box) last weekend. Some hit me/my bike. Luckily it was going down.
The 'hunters' (very canned - beginners by the amount of birds they missed) were within yards of the road, and the birds were also landing on the road.
101 was called, but we haven't heard anything since.
Sounds like something out of 'Wanted'. What are the chances of a shot like that?