Man dead after shooting himself with Darlington Cattle market stun gun. - Polidicks

[QUOTE]The managing director of a North-East livestock mart died in hospital last night hours after being found with serious head injuries following an incident involving a bolt gun. Police recovered a bolt gun, used to stun animals, at the scene. Darlington Auction Mart was packed with livestock and farmers waiting for the sale to start when the incident happened at about 9am yesterday. Police were called to the scene, in Clifton Road, after being alerted by staff. While police have not made a formal identification, it is understood the victim was Stephen Aitken, 45, of Ingleby Barwick, who was managing director and chief auctioneer at the market. He was taken to The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, in a critical condition. He was pronounced dead at about 6pm. Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident are continuing, but police said they are not treating it as suspicious. The market was closed by staff shortly after the incident. Detective Sergeant Jim Cunningham, of Darlington CID, who is leading the investigation, said: “There is nothing suspicious at the present time and we are trying to establish what has happened.” He said the matter was being passed to the coroner. A spokesman for Durham Police said: “Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident and a bolt gun, used to stun animals before slaughter, has been recovered from the scene.” The Health and Safety Executive has been informed. John Walton, chairman of the Darlington Auction Mart Company, which owns the site, cancelled yesterday’s auction and closed the site for the day because staff were too distressed to work. He said: “Everyone is in shock. Our thoughts are with his family. “I was not present when it happened, but I decided to send everyone home and not hold the market. It was impossible to hold a market – everyone was so upset.” Mr Walton said he did not know whether the market would be open for the next scheduled sale on Thursday because of continued police activity at the site. Mr Aitken had been at the forefront of plans to move the cattle mart to a purpose built out-of-town complex. The move, at a cost of about £17m, would have created 300 jobs in the agricultural and equine sectors over three years. Last year, the Government refused a request for £5m from the Regional Growth Fund to help move the mart from its town centre location to a 50- hectare site at Humbleton Farm, off the A68. But Mr Aitken pledged it would still go ahead, despite some opposition from nearby residents. [/QUOTE] [url]http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/new...tun_gun_death/[/url] What is this world/Dalington coming too?

A bit misleading thread title, the man is dead.

[QUOTE=Uncle Bourbon;36002981]A bit misleading thread title, the man is dead.[/QUOTE] Oops [editline]18th May 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Uncle Bourbon;36002981]A bit misleading thread title, the man is dead.[/QUOTE] There we go

Jesus, I wonder how that could've happened. What a horrible way to go...

How does that happen?

I live in Darlington, such a shame.

[QUOTE=WolfeClaw;36003022]I live in Darlington, such a shame.[/QUOTE] Yeah, RIP

Eugh, I've seen one of those abbatoir bolt guns in use, not pretty. The type used here is designed to penetrate the skull and destroy the cerebrum and cerebellum, but leaving the brain stem intact so the cow's heart still beats, and thus can still be bled. Messy.

so its less of a stun gun and more of a death ray

[QUOTE=abcpea2;36003773]so its less of a stun gun and more of a death ray[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr00arV2XIw[/media] Its basically a gun, it shoots a small caliber round that destroys cerebrum and leaves most of the brain intact like brain stem. So it is basically dead, without being biologically dead. They do this so the heart can continue to beat so the meat does not go bad or it can be as fresh as possible without being inhumane. They want the animals heart to continue so blood keeps circulating up untill the bleeding process. They call it a stun gun because realistically speaking it does not kill the animal entirely. Plus it markets better and sounds better as a Cattle bolt pistol or a cattle stungun. I think more people would be angry or try to protest its use if it was called the Meat Blaster S&W .500

Thought of [img]http://www.nndb.com/people/733/000109406/javier-bardem.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=MR-X;36003883][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr00arV2XIw[/media] [/QUOTE] I swear to God this is the Mass Effect codex narrator.

[QUOTE=Tommeh!;36002998]Jesus, I wonder how that could've happened. What a horrible way to go...[/QUOTE] Kinda odd to remember that this fate is suffered by thousands of cattle daily.

[QUOTE=MR-X;36003883][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr00arV2XIw[/media] Its basically a gun, it shoots a small caliber round that destroys cerebrum and leaves most of the brain intact like brain stem. So it is basically dead, without being biologically dead. They do this so the heart can continue to beat so the meat does not go bad or it can be as fresh as possible without being inhumane. They want the animals heart to continue so blood keeps circulating up untill the bleeding process. They call it a stun gun because realistically speaking it does not kill the animal entirely. Plus it markets better and sounds better as a Cattle bolt pistol or a cattle stungun. I think more people would be angry or try to protest its use if it was called the Meat Blaster S&W .500[/QUOTE] My boss knew the man who killed himself, apparently he made a mistake or something, picked up the captive bolt gun, loaded it and shot himself in the head. It was the little hand held pistol like guns. Not the big fuck off machine one in the video though.

[QUOTE=Da_Beast;36005165]My boss knew the man who killed himself, apparently he made a mistake or something, picked up the captive bolt gun, loaded it and shot himself in the head. It was the little hand held pistol like guns. Not the big fuck off machine one in the video though.[/QUOTE] There are three types of bolt gun, the penetrating type that fires a retractable bolt into the skull, the non-penetrating that knocks out via concussion (though doesnt always work, cow skulls are tough), and the disposable kind where you load a stun rod and fire, but it can't be retracted. I'd say he picked up one of the dispoable ones.

[QUOTE=Da_Beast;36005165]My boss knew the man who killed himself, apparently he made a mistake or something, picked up the captive bolt gun, loaded it and shot himself in the head. It was the little hand held pistol like guns. Not the big fuck off machine one in the video though.[/QUOTE] like this? [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Cash%27s_captive_bolt_pistol.jpg/220px-Cash%27s_captive_bolt_pistol.jpg[/img]

There was a CSI: Miami on this. On topic: terrible way to go.