[inmeirulez]

Check out this story (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)...

Teen Killed By Sword Falling From Bedroom Wall

BRANDON, Fla. -- A teenager died after he was slashed by a sword that dislodged from the wall of his bedroom while he was playing ball with his siblings, authorities said. The sheriff's office said 15-year-old Joshua Hershberger was sitting on the floor of his bedroom Monday night, bouncing a ball with his 9-year-old sister and 14-year-old brother. The ball bounced up and knocked a 29-inch sword off the wall where it was displayed. The high school sophomore was slashed in the shoulder and neck and was pronounced dead at a hospital in Brandon, a Tampa suburb. The death is being considered an accident and no charges are expected to be filed.

[wp6Eg2Fm]

well in that vein, topheavy bookshelves and kitchen knives are dangerous too.

[MADwanker]

I really feel bad for the family. Though it's not really safe to hang up something like that on a wall, at least they weren't doing anything bad with the sword itself (or at least at the time).

A similar thing happened to my friend a few years ago. There was a project that was due that morning and he got up early to do it. Then that's when a small earthquake hit (kinda rare in the southeast US). He had a few swords on the wall and one of them fell on the bed where he would be sleeping if he was a good boy and did his homework when he was supposed to. For once, procrastination does someone good, LOL.

[Rufio]

Haha. Wow, that sucks, Anime.

Poor kid, though. Wallhangers are so dumb. What I don't get is why the sword wasn't sheathed. Who leaves out a sharp sword naked like that? I could understand if it was dull or something, but, razor sharp is kind of negligent.

[rhybrisee]

speaking of keeping swords unsheathed:

I had a cosin who had just finished cleaning and polishing a wallhanger and was setting it up on the wall when he dropped it. he immideatly went to grab it but then realized too late that sharp swords and fingers don't mix well

one visit to the hospital and a somewhat shorter middle finger later he decided on a name for the sword..."lesson learned"

a katana comes with a saya(rt word) for a reason folks

[cl004]

wow... that is a sad story indeed.. and he was only 15..

one question. i wonder why he didnt tie the sword over the sheat so it wouldnt fall off and slash em..

and if my mom knew i had a sword in my house (espically above my bed) shell freak out!

[wrewsTear]

Ha, in my room back home there is an old wallhanger set displayed above my bed. Good news is that it is so cheap that the sword is basically jammed in the aluminum saya. The only reason I still have it is because no one in their right mind would buy the set from me

[BDDkDvgZ]

well he shouldnt have been playing with balls in the house anyways. and serves em right for having a wall hanger-especially one not fixed proper.

owy though, i do feel sorry for the family. and the kiddies that had to watch it happen.

wall hangers should never be made sharp, its just too dangerous

[xIuvyAuT]

Serves him right is when he gets knicked...not when he's dead. Sad story.

[Lyikmcmb]

it must have been a heavy sword to do that kind of damage, most likely not a katana as katanas are always shealthed. plus i dont think that it was a wall hanger!

[exchpaypalgold]

yep. actually useful blades and tools are dangerous enough. as someone who has been unconsious due to blood loss i'd prefer to be as safe as possible.

[Mr Andrews]

why why, was it unsheated?? i just don't understand that kind of thing??? At least i'll learn from this and not try to hang any swords up

[Wheldcobchoto]

Most European style wallhangers don't even come with sheathes. They're meant to be display pieces, so alot of them usually have some kind of design on the blade. No point in getting a sword with a fancy design on it if you can't see it, right?

[DoctorDulitlBest]

Wow, this is just horrible

I still want a wall hanger, but after reading this I'd make sure it's somewhere far away from any beds or sofas and that's it's secured with zip tyes or something.

[riverakathy]

I dont think this kid deserved to be slashed so bad he bled to death regardless of how stupid he was. Youth and wisdom are rarely combined. Thats what we have parents and other mentors for in those early shaky years.

[casinobonusa]

i understand the term "wall hangers", (when refering to off the street, el cheapo, poor quality/assembled katana) but in all honesty, katanta's shouldn't be hung on the wall!!!!!!

[gastabegree]

Safety/Safety/Safety, especially when there are inexperienced young adults or children around who are not educated about the dangers, unsupervised or when dangerous items are improperly and unsafly displayed. It sounds like a tragic incident, however; I'm sure it could have been prevented someway/somehow. Hindesight is 20/20, so I'm not going to put any blame on anybody because we don't know all the real details.

[I9dydJrX]

it must have been a heavy sword to do that kind of damage, most likely not a katana as katanas are always shealthed. plus i dont think that it was a wall hanger!

29 inches, so it couldnt have been that heavy. Must have been like 10 out of 10 on the sharpness scale.

and if its that sharp it shoud be sheathed.....

i feel really bad for the family, just think, there had to clean up the blood of their dead son. tortureous.

[Buyemae]

i understand the term "wall hangers", (when refering to off the street, el cheapo, poor quality/assembled katana) but in all honesty, katanta's shouldn't be hung on the wall!!!!!!

They usually aren't. We refer to those "off the street, el cheapo, poor quality/assembled katana" as wall hangers to emphasize the fact that they're purely for decoration. In reality, it's rare that you'll ever find a katana hung up on a wall. The tsuba makes it stick out at weird angle that looks pretty unattractive.