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Rifles not a permitted form of rodent control within Boston city limits, man learns
By adamg on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 5:11pm
An Allston man who took out his frustrations at rats scurrying around his apartment building by shooting at them had his rifle and ammo taken away by police, who also charged him with a series of criminal offenses.
William McAbee was arraigned today in Brighton District Court for a Nov. 20 incident, in which police showed up at his Franklin Street building when a neighbor called 911 to report a man shooting a rifle repeatedly into the building's common area and backyard, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.
McAbee, who lives on the second floor, "expressed great frustration" to police about the building's rodent infestation and admitted to trying to solve it through gunfire, the DA's office says. Police then confiscated McAbee's .22 caliber Smith and Wesson Model 422 rifle with one round left in it and a box of ammunition from his bedroom dresser, the DA's office reports. Officers also wanted to confiscate his firearms ID card, but McAbee said it had been stolen out of his car - and then officers discovered it had lapsed in 1999.
Judge Kenneth V. Desmond set his bail at $2,500 on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and unlawfully discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.
Innocent, etc.
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Comments
Could he be an Irish marano?
Wouldn't it be something if his father's name were Judah Ben McAbee?
Especially on the first night
Especially on the first night of Chanukah!
Can you lawfully discharge a
Can you lawfully discharge a gun if it's 500ft away from a dwelling?
Bang!
I wondered that as well. I wonder if this is one of those obscure laws to ensure that you can't fire a gun anywhere in the city without getting in trouble somehow...
Obscure?
Discharging a firearm near residences is hardly "obscure". It's common sense safety, like don't point a gun at anything you don't want to kill.
There's not much use for a gun in a city besides safety / self defense, and plenty to inadvertently hit.
You can fire it within 500 feet of a dewlling depending on......
owners permission, if there is a shooting range there, if you are defending yourself, or if you are a police officer on duty.
And the 422 is a handgun, although the penalties are the same.
Close but no cigar
I'm not a big gun guy but a S&W 422 is a pistol, not a rifle. The ammo was .22 LR (long rifle) but that doesn't have to go in a rifle, lots of .22 pistols shoot it too. It's pretty low power and useful for...tada, pest control. My parents started to get a small rodent problem around the bird feeders in their yard (not the squirrels, they feed those rodents too). The neighbor used his .22 and some cheetos to solve the problem. Then again, my dad got the same efficacy from a BB pellet pistol on his side of the fence.
But back to my original point, it sounds like he had a handgun, Adam, not a rifle.
This looks like a job for Jake Wark!
Please, Jake, can you look into this? I found the original DA press release that calls it a rifle, but I'm betting it's just a confusion over the fact that it's a "422 .22LR" because it fires ".22 long rifle" bullets. Maybe I'm wrong and S&W made a "422 rifle" but I can't find any reference to it online anywhere.
Also, regarding the original press release calling the method of rodent control with a gun "unorthodox", that isn't exactly true (ok, maybe in the city). In fact, .22 ammo is frequently used for pest control in places where rodents are troublesome. Decent range, no need for a ton of "stopping power", usually pretty accurate (depends on gun)...perfect for targets or varmints.
Quick, to the Wark Signal!
D'oh! I think you guys are
D'oh! I think you guys are right -- the itemized list of evidence includes a "422 22 Long Rifle CTJ." I think that got me thinking long arms, and the narrative doesn't specify it was a pistol, and the rest is erroneous history.
Thanks!
I appreciate you looking into it. It's a shame; from what I was reading, the S&W 422 is a pretty good pistol that they don't make any more.
Would have been easier to get
Would have been easier to get a cat.
Back when I was a kid in
Back when I was a kid in northern NH and squirrels moved into our attic after we were slow to get a section of trim replaced, it was a contest between my dad with his .22 and our cat - and the cat won. (Of course I think it was Feather 2, Dad 1, but still.)
However, I understand it's a rare cat who will take on full-grown rats. We did have a cat who presented us with two smallish rats here in Somerville (one in our dining room!) before he (sadly) died young of pancreatic cancer last year, but that's been it for ratting among our cats. I think a terrier is supposed to be more effective.