The Nation: Gunsmoke

Upset at the spectacle of the San Francisco Giants losing to the Houston Astros, Gerald Bishop, 42, of Redding, Calif., picked up a .30-cal. carbine last week and pumped 17 shots into his television set. Several of the shots went through the wall. A terrified neighbor called police, and they promptly arrived to arrest Bishop. Facing one year in jail for disturbing the peace, Bishop offered only the simplest explanation: "Didn't you ever want to shoot your TV?" Said a police spokesman: "Unusual, isn't it?" Perhaps the police in Redding do not watch much television.

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