As much as we wish that our lives would bear even the slightest resemblance to the Game of Thrones, the sad reality is that such epic and fantastical adventures are just not in the cards for most of us.
One 27-year-old Rhode Island resident named Daniel King learned the hard way, after his lofty attempt to shoot a pigeon with a bow and arrow failed miserably. Instead of simply impaling the pesky bird sitting in his driveway, the ambitious King accidentally hit a nine-year-old girl right in the back.
Four young girls were walking on Bain Street in Cranston when Lexi Franco, 9, was struck by an arrow shot.
According to police, the arrow was fired from the bow of 27-year-old Daniel King. King later told police he tried to shoot a pigeon in his driveway with a bow and arrow when it ricocheted and hit the girl.
“We were just talking for a couple minutes and that’s when he shot Lexi. I thought it was one of those plastic ones, you know? Then I turned around and he was there just looking at us. Then she goes ‘Ow, ow,’ and the thing fell out…and I saw blood,” said the victim’s sister Angel Lucchetti, “She had a hole in her back over here. Like a big hole.”
Amazingly, Franco sustained no serious internal injuries and has since been released from Hasbro Children’s Hospital. King, meanwhile, surrendered to police officials and even showed remorse for his recklessness.
King arrived on scene a short time later with his hands in the air, and said to police “I knew you were looking for me. It was an accident. Is she okay?” He was handcuffed and taken into custody.
Police later executed a search warrant at the suspect’s home and seized a large Hoyt USA 63-inch bow, a small 36-inch bow, seven arrows, as well as a blood swab and a control swab from the broken arrow.
King was charged with felony assault with a dangerous weapon and held as a probation violator.
The lesson here: Maybe don’t use a bow and arrow in a residential neighborhood? Maybe try and shoo the pigeon away with a broom like the rest of us?