Identify Your Target
Dear Editor: On May 13, a day that was magically warm and sunny, enticing everyone outside, two women decided to go snorkeling at the Chaichei islands. One of the women is experienced and has photographed and filmed many of the underwater beautiful treasures in our Sitka waters. Knowing the Chaichei islands to be a popular camping and picnic spot, they were not surprised to find the beaches occupied. Since their only goal was to snorkel they went farther from the beach to a more rocky side of the island where they wouldn’t be bothering others who had fires and picnics taking place.
As they were swimming and diving they heard some strange sounds and something zipping by them in the water. They realized someone was shooting at them. They immediately raised their hands, waving them and yelling. More shots came their way and they quickly dove deep and swam over to the rocks for protection. As they couldn’t continue swimming they came up with a plan to pull themselves up on the rocks as tall as possible, wave their hands and yell before quickly dropping back into the water behind the rocks in case they were shot at again.
About five or six teen males saw that they were shooting at people and not seals, as the women assumed they must look like seals in their black suits with black hoods, for they couldn’t fathom any other reason for someone to shoot at them. The teens immediately started calling and asking if everyone was okay and apologizing and saying how sorry they were. One of the young men came around in his Whaler to make sure they both were okay and to apologize. The women said he looked shaken and truly remorseful which made them decide not to note the number on their boat or to get their names to make a report. They felt those young men probably learned a very scary lesson.
This incident could have had a very tragic ending forever changing the lives of the women and everyone who loves them as well as changing forever the lives of the young men who could have injured or killed one of the women, or both.
A gun is meant to be lethal and shouldn’t be aimed at anything until the shooter knows for certain what his target is, not what the shooter thinks it might be or assumes it is. Don’t aim or shoot until you know for sure what your target is. Verify it, because you can’t undo it once you have fired.
Elisabeth Schafer, Sitka
