“Gun Death” Zipties

Zipties are one of those 1,001 use items. They’re cheap, they’re strong, and they work well for a LOT of uses. Most of them are good, some of them are bad…

Charlotte Schilling strangled her 10-year-old son with a plastic zip tie, then killed herself, Council Bluffs police said today.

Schilling, a 41-year-old Plattsmouth, Neb., woman, used a separate zip tie to strangle herself after killing Owen Schilling, authorities said.

No suicide note has been found….Criminal Investigation Division Sgt. Chad Meyers said Schilling had attempted suicide last November. She used a zip tie in that incident as well, but a family member was able to intervene.

never really considered zip-ties as a suicide means, but I can see how they work. Wrap one around your neck tight enough to occlude blood flow, and unless somebody comes in and cuts the tie, the occlusion will remain until death occurs. Seems pretty quick and painless too. Anti-rights people talk a lot of “Gun Suicide” because it accounts for about 50% of the suicides in this country, and they want to ban guns. Of course other countries with heavy gun control don’t have a notably lower suicide rate than the US…tho their “Gun Suicide” rates are much lower. With the exception of Japan where suicide can be considered “Honerable” under the right circumstances, generally you see the most suicides in places with long dark winters (like the Northern United states, Alaska, Scandinavia, Norther Russia) or places with minimal sunshine like Seattle Washington. Suicide is a horrible thing that hurts families a great deal, but its also a personal choice.

The real sorrow is that this woman murdered her young son before taking her own life. But it wasn’t a “Gun Death” so we won’t be hearing calls for Ziptie bans or background checks.

h/t AllenF