REPORT: NC neighborhood targeting speeders with paintball guns? This should end well.
The suburban neighborhoods of Durham, NC has a speeding problem. Well, the neighborhood had a speeding problem until citizens in the area decided to take matters into their own hands. Instead of forming a tighter bond with law enforcement, the citizens of Durham decided it was better to take the Charles Bronson approach – but instead of using a Colt Police Positive .32 caliber revolver, residents are apparently threatening to use paint guns. Local CBS affiliate WRAL reports that the group, Angry Neighbors with Paintball Guns, has posted signs throughout residential Durham warning speeders that they will be met with a hail of bullets of the Sherwin Williams kind. Needless to say, speeding in the area has been curbed significantly and the members of ANPG have become a sought after commodity on the local news. There is one problem, though: shooting paint balls at cars is illegal, and to our way of thinking, that's a good thing for the safety of speeders and bystanders. To our knowledge, no shots have been fired so far.
Meanwhile, the Durham police department has stepped up its game in-and-around the affected neighborhoods and speeders has reportedly all but disappeared. So, are the cops or the paint ballers keeping the streets of Durham safe? We've got our money on the boys and girls in blue, though paintball guns - like the .475 Wildey - make a real mess.
[Source: WRAL | Image: Capitol Broadcasting Company]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
VW GTi 7:03PM (8/18/2009)
Anyone up for some target practice?
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Paul 7:35PM (8/18/2009)
Not uncommon: My neighbors burned a serial speeder's car after law enforcement refused to cooperate. Despite warnings and confrontations, he ended up injuring a small child in a crosswalk. His Mustang was burned the next day and LE is now strict on our street.
I wouldn't hesitate to take the paintball route (or more) if my fellow neighbors supported it. Residential areas with pedestrians just aren't for speeding.
Josh 8:47PM (8/18/2009)
Shooting at a car [or aiming for the person driving] is still considered felony damage to property or range up to misdemeanor battery in most areas although it typically causes no serious damage to the property or person. Soooo keep that trigger finger light ;)
tuna 8:52PM (8/18/2009)
Vigilante justice may seem justified, but it's just asking for more trouble.
From a pedestrians perspective, anything moving faster is going to appear... well, faster. Back in my college days I frequently had to ride my bicycle through a street where a few hippy families lived and allowed their children to play freely on the street unsupervised. Drivers would drive though at 10 mph (25 mph speed limit through residential areas) and the parents, when they were around, would scream "slow down" at the top of their lungs. And, their kids picked up on that behavior/hatred for cars, and would do the same thing when the parents aren't around. Some times they even threw rocks. Kids will be kids, y'know? Now, I don't know if anything ever boiled over into something greater. But, with behavior(s) like that, it was only a matter of time.
Granted, this is an extreme example. Point is, without any sort of speed measuring device, it's impossible for these residents to fairly judge who is and isn't speeding. It'd just lead to indiscriminate use of paintballs that could lead to even more flared tempers and possibly shootings with actual bullets. So is this sort of justice really worth it? Petitioning for the city to put up a large sign is probably more productive.
Plus, how about being responsible parents, teach your kids not to play in the street... and don't leave them unsupervised just so you could have that moment of peace to yourself. As a parent, one shouldn't put the responsibility of the welfare of their children onto others. If you made the choice to procreate, all responsibilities associated with that decision rests upon you and your partner!
geo.stewart 8:56PM (8/18/2009)
but officer, I wasnt shooting at the car, thats illegal. I was shooting at the driver.
speeding through neighborhoods is asinine. shoot em up below the window line
VW GTi 9:52PM (8/18/2009)
My joking aside, as law abiding citizens we shouldn't take the law into their own hands. Just let the Folks in Blue take care of the situation. Enforcing laws without authority makes anyone just as bad as the person offending the law.
scoobe2 2:47PM (8/19/2009)
i dont condone speeding but i have to say if someone tagged my car with a paintball gun i would be getting out with my mossberg pump action and return the favor. 2 wrongs dont make a right, this is why we have law enforcement. i have jackass neighbors who dont want anyone "speeding" (going more than 15mph) in our block but when i called the town to have children in area signs installed one of them (who is a teacher great role model) promptly pulled it out because he didnt want it on his lawn. but these are the same morons who put illegal signs in the street and stand in the road while their kids play. it is a road and children should not be using it as a playground.
maximum joe 2:51PM (8/19/2009)
I got into a fist fight with a speeder that lived at the end of my street. We have several children in our neighborhood, and I yelled at him as he flew buy at about 60MPH. He stopped and took a swing at me. I pounded him into the ground. When the cops got there all the neighbors were on my side and he got arrested on back warrants. It was a good day.
naggs 3:00PM (8/19/2009)
keep in mind, that if you shoot stuff at someones pride and joy, they just might burn your house down
Justin 7:09PM (8/18/2009)
This is awesome.
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Bobmarley 8:42AM (8/19/2009)
I agree. This is awsome! Any half decent parent that has experienced the neighborhood speeder can relate to this.
I didn't think I would see so many negative tight ass coments about this on here! And they say nobody has actually been paintballed yet so its more of a joke threat
CHALLAX people
StanleyVanBuren 7:19PM (8/18/2009)
I've heard Clarkson refer to the "War on Speed," but I had no idea some people were taking it so literally.
FWIW, these people are clearly idiots and I believe the appropriate response would be for someone to film a "Getaway in Durham" to show them up.
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skicat 10:19AM (8/19/2009)
The only people who are idiots are the speeders. Obey the damn law and don't be a neighborhood liability.
Slav 7:22PM (8/18/2009)
Won't a paintball leave more than a splat mark on a car? I've been hit with one before and had a bruise for weeks. I would assume it could actually dent the metal and if so, I'd be one pissed of driver if this happened to me. Bypassing that whole speeding thing to begin with of course.
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Joe 7:27PM (8/18/2009)
I was supposed to meet some friends one day at the nearby middle school. I got there and was waiting by my car for them to show up. They thought it would be hilarious to do a drive by with a paintball gun and color my car orange. Extra annoying is that they targeted the wheels too, which, when I drove away, flung paint everywhere.
I was pissed, but it all came off without permanent damage.
StanleyVanBuren 7:29PM (8/18/2009)
your first problem would be that you are meeting friends at a middle school.
rygar 9:01AM (8/19/2009)
Yes, a paintball will leave more than paint on your car. There's some punk-ass kids in our neighborhood that drove around paintballing cars. They left a nice dent in the back of my car. They also egged a bunch of cars recently and I don't know who was throwing it but they have one hell of a pitching arm because they hit my car hard enough to crack the clearcoat.
If I ever find those little punks, it won't be the barrel of a paintball gun they'll be looking at!
Evan 7:24PM (8/18/2009)
I would carry around a fully automatic paintball gun in my car, and if they shot at my car would promptly unload a few thousand upon the person and their house.
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Kaveh 7:25PM (8/18/2009)
That's pretty funny, but I would leave a baseball bat in my car if someone hit my car. People need to do that to the idiots who drive around playing bass really loud in front of apartments and houses.
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farmer0904 7:30PM (8/18/2009)
Wow I wonder how long before they hit some one around the driver window and that car just happens to run over those avenging paint ball rebels ? All I 'm saying is well Some one in a speeding car might just "ACCIDENTLY SWORE" into the paint ballers ; =\
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