Bulletproof Vest by Addison Jordan

Summary: A man in South Carolina put on a bulletproof vest and asked his friends to shoot him, investigators say. Now this man is dead and his friends are facing serious charges.

            “Deputies responding to a call at 2:41 a.m. Wednesday found Blake Randall Wardell, 25, lying in the garage of a home with a single gunshot wound to the chest,” the Anderson County Sheriff's Office said. Deputy Coroner Don McCown told WHNS, a CNN affiliate, that Wardell bled to death.

            Investigators charged friend Timothy Dwayne Fisher, age 25, with involuntary manslaughter. The charge carries a maximum of five years in prison. Another friend, Taylor Ann Kelly, age 18, was charged with accessory after the fact for concealing information in the case. Her charge carries a prison term up to three years.  There may even be additional charges filed.

“Wardell had been hanging out with a group of friends Tuesday night when they decided to try on the vest and have someone shoot them,” McCown told WHNS. Investigators said when it was Wardell's turn, the bullet from the .22 long rifle missed the portion of the vest and hit him right in the chest.

Analysis: This is a very poor choice to make. I don’t understand why you would want someone to shoot you on purpose. Even though you are wearing a bulletproof vest, it doesn’t mean that it is 100 percent safe.  Now the victim is dead, and his friends will probably go to prison, even though they did not mean to kill him.  I hope that more people hear about this, to keep others from making such ridiculous choices.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/16/justice/south-carolina-bulletproof-vest-death/index.html?hpt=us_c2