Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Man arrested for trying to literally shoot the moon

He missed the satellite by at least one billion feet

Christopher Hooton
Wednesday 11 June 2014 12:43 EDT
Comments
It isn't clear what the moon did to anger the man
It isn't clear what the moon did to anger the man (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

An Arizona man has been arrested for unlawfully discharging a firearm, telling police that he was trying to shoot the moon.

39-year-old Cameron Read took a more literal approach to the phrase 'shoot for the moon', but given that bullets only travel about 4000 feet into the air when shot directly upwards, he was some 1.2 billion feet short of hitting the Earth's satellite.

Prescott Valley police responded to a call from a woman who reported that her boyfriend had fired several shots from a handgun and was still armed on Friday night.

She and her teenage son told the authorities that Read was talking about seeing Halley's Comet before he began firing out of the window.

The pair heard several more shots before fleeing.

Police say Read has been booked into the Yavapai County Jail on suspicion of felony counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and endangerment plus misdemeanor criminal damage, and does not yet have an attorney.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in