A Georgia man attempting to kill an armadillo earlier this week inadvertently shot his mother-in-law. A likely story. First of all, I don’t know why you’d want to shoot an armadillo because they’re adorable. But apparently they dig up flower beds and leave holes on property and conduct other pest-like behavior.
Second of all, I don’t know why you’d want to shoot an armadillo because its covered in armor — it’s name literally means “little armored thing” in Spanish — and one might reasonably expect that the bullet would ricochet after hitting the armadillo, and according to WALB News 10 that’s exactly what happened in this story.
Lee County Sheriff’s deputies said 54-year-old Larry McElroy was outside when he fired his 9 mm pistol at the armadillo. The bullet killed the animal, but also ricocheted off of it, hit a fence, went through the back door of his mother-in-law’s mobile home, through a recliner she was sitting in, and into her back.
Fortunately McElroy’s mother-in-law, 74-year-old Carol Johnson, was not seriously injured and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. But that’s not even the craziest part of this story, because local Georgia government officials actually do recommend shooting errant armadillos — but only if you’re smart about it.
James Morgan, the Dougherty County Extension Coordinator said they actually recommend shooting armadillos for residents that live in the county, or a trap can be used to capture them. “At first I ask if they live in the city or county, because shooting is an effective way of getting rid of them. However, you have to be safe when you do that,” said Morgan.
“I really think if they’re going to shoot at varmints and whatnot, maybe use a shotgun.. with a spread pattern with a lot less range,” Smith said.
This is exactly why some people assume that everyone in the bottom 1/3 of the United States walks around like Yosemite Sam at least 75 percent of the time.