# Shots fired at kayakers in Arizona



## JSHero

That is just plain crazy. Glad no one was hurt.



Upright is alright


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## markinsteamboat

*The next one won't miss..*

Just saw this. 
Police: Suspect shoots at Flagstaff men for kayaking on his ‘property’ | KSNV


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## lmyers

Combined the two threads on the same topic into one....


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## buckmanriver

Wow. Not much on google for the guy "Danny Eugene Button." I wonder if he will serve time.


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## buckmanriver

It is also a rural area. The screen shot shows the persons place. He's got lost of stuff in his yard that would be good for target sooting. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Burro+Creek+Campground/@34.5392021,-113.4706438,4918m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x80d25ec8905065d7:0x7a7a9f4a41cf4412!8m2!3d34.5380727!4d-113.4499277


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## yak1

That use to happen on Colorado on a regular basis.


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## jmacn

I had a run in with this same psycho in 2015 when launching on Burro Creek. I had a fairly lengthy talk with him that was polite and informative explaining the laws in Arizona about public rights to access the river. He was unconvinced and threatened to call the Sheriff. I explained that we weren't looking to upset anyone but he was welcome to make that phone call. We told him that we'd pack up and drive home. He left looking satisfied. We launched anyway and had a great time on a rarely run AZ gem of a river. Seriously, you all should enjoy Burro nearby and Santa Maria if you ever have the chance. Super glad no one was hurt. Hopefully the long list of Felony charges will help convince him of what constitutes trespassing...


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## jbolson

I hope this guy gets jail time.


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## Montana Ranches

Absolutely ridiculous!


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## villagelightsmith

Sounds like a man in some serious pain, and by the looks of his place, it's been building for a l-o-n-g time. I doubt if this can be easily fixed by a one-time conversation, though an occasional plate of cookies with a friendly word does go a long way toward fixing things between neighbors. I seriously doubt if jail time would do anything toward making him a better man, though getting him out of the public and his losing his home and property might help that public somehow feel better for the moment. 

This sort of thing festers in people's minds all over the world, for years, then when it crops up, everyone is surprised. It's happening elsewhere, right now. I, too, have a neighbor who recently blew up after some long festering I knew nothing about. We'd just as soon kill each other. Taking my own better advice, I think I'll start buying my neighbors some cookies on a regular basis. If he won't take them, the other neighbors will. (Then he will really be alone!)

A kind word and a little bit of forgiveness go a long way toward Peace on earth. But once a man pulls a trigger, the State loses its sense of humor and kindly settlements become impossible. I, too, have faced a hurting man who finally pulled out a gun. I too, have had a trigger pulled on me on a couple of different occasions. I, too, have watched as the State took over. It wasn't nice at all.

We've all witnessed fights, divorces, suicides, over slights, insults, and foolish words. A little genuine kindness, a bit of forgiveness, and a very few wise words go a long way in this sorry vale of tears.


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## Andy H.

villagelightsmith said:


> But once a man pulls a trigger, the State loses its sense of humor and kindly settlements become impossible. A little genuine kindness, a bit of forgiveness, and a very few wise words go a long way in this sorry vale of tears.


Yeah, it's all fun and games until someone pulls the trigger...

Agreed about kind words and forgiveness, though.


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## mattman

Thanks for a really good post Village lightsmith.

Once someone starts shooting at other people, then the state has to do something, for other peoples safety, but sometimes there is probly a lot so many people could do to keep it from going to that last straw. Try to make peace, and forgive, if you can, it will do so much for you, and it could end up meaning everything for someone else.


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## barry

*if this is a repost or old news...sorry but, "kayakers shot at in AZ?"*

4 kayakers shot at, held at gunpoint by 66-year-old Arizona man – Cedar City News


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## restrac2000

Added a third thread.


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## bystander

villagelightsmith said:


> Sounds like a man in some serious pain, and by the looks of his place, it's been building for a l-o-n-g time. I doubt if this can be easily fixed by a one-time conversation, though an occasional plate of cookies with a friendly word does go a long way toward fixing things between neighbors. I seriously doubt if jail time would do anything toward making him a better man, though getting him out of the public and his losing his home and property might help that public somehow feel better for the moment.
> 
> This sort of thing festers in people's minds all over the world, for years, then when it crops up, everyone is surprised. It's happening elsewhere, right now. I, too, have a neighbor who recently blew up after some long festering I knew nothing about. We'd just as soon kill each other. Taking my own better advice, I think I'll start buying my neighbors some cookies on a regular basis. If he won't take them, the other neighbors will. (Then he will really be alone!)
> 
> A kind word and a little bit of forgiveness go a long way toward Peace on earth. But once a man pulls a trigger, the State loses its sense of humor and kindly settlements become impossible. I, too, have faced a hurting man who finally pulled out a gun. I too, have had a trigger pulled on me on a couple of different occasions. I, too, have watched as the State took over. It wasn't nice at all.
> 
> We've all witnessed fights, divorces, suicides, over slights, insults, and foolish words. A little genuine kindness, a bit of forgiveness, and a very few wise words go a long way in this sorry vale of tears.


I'm not sure any of this could have been helped before the kayakers went down the creek from up stream. They likely had no idea of the man below. I would also guess the festering in the man was due to him believing he owned the rights to the water on his land, even if others told him otherwise. Over the years the anger built up. I'd figure the only way that could have been changed was to some how get law enforcement involved years prior, to let him know the law, before the rage set in.


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## AZ boater

*Conclusion*

20 to 30 years:

http://azdailysun.com/news/local/jury-convicts-arizona-man-of-shooting-at-flagstaff-kayakers/article_924bb731-89f3-58aa-ab4b-b489bd387fbb.html

Tyler Williams's personal, excellent account of the incident:

https://www.canoekayak.com/editors-pick/the-incident-at-burro-creek


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## ColoradoDave

Thanks to the boaters for following through and testifying so this crime will be punished. It sends a message to anyone that still thinks it's wild west out there.


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## jbolson

Anyone else see the parallels between this story and many of the mass shootings that have been going on.


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## GilaRobusta

jbolson said:


> Anyone else see the parallels between this story and many of the mass shootings that have been going on.


No, not really. I see the parallels with many other western land owners attempting to claim by force what they cannot buy (nor own).


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## Electric-Mayhem

I see some mental health issues and some misunderstanding of rights, but I don't think it parallels the mass shootings very much. Mass shootings are largely pre-meditated....this was reactionary. I'm not saying it was right, but its different then creating a plot to do a mass shooting.

If the article is correct, it appears that the jury believed that he was not trying to kill them but only to intimidate and threaten. Its still a big deal, but does bring up a tiny bit of compassion for the guy. It was certainly an unjustified and ignorant act, but it appears that as far as he was concerned he was protecting his land from tresspasers and now he will probably be spending the rest of his life in jail because of it. 

Trust me, I feel for the kayakers and what they went through and I would never want to go through that myself. However, even the guy who had the gun pointed at him said he had compassion for the dude and kind of understood why he was doing it.


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## nomadderwhat

Colorado Kayaking :: Colorado's online river guide and journal for whitewater kayaking

Similar situation....fuckin ********.


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## Andy H.

From the article:


> The lead kayaker saw one round hit about four feet from him.


and


> Button's attorney argued that his client was shooting on his property unaware of the kayakers. He claimed the kayakers were not in Button's line of sight.


Somehow the combination of these two quotes does not say "responsible gun owner" to me. 

-AH


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## villagelightsmith

No, in the "wild west", I think people were far more hospitable than the angry people our modern ways have bred. Mental issues were a problem then as now. There were the usual percentage of sociopaths. And there are a few bones out there from people who simply disappeared or were buried in a dry gulch. Caving off a cutbank over the corpus delecti saved digging and gave the shooter a head start before leaving town.. The perpetrator who's neighbors disappeared usually got a reputation for it. Stability, Peace, and Civility were valued in the greater community. And civilized people might'a been a little more realistic about things. They were prepared to shoot back. 

I've seen a bullet strike a few feet from my canoe, and I can assure you it was NOT a stray bullet. And, I've unintentionally faced down a fellow with a shotgun at very close range. But, most folks don't want to put the front sight on some other fellow's second button and pull the trigger, so he refrained and saved everybody the messy cleanup. Besides, neither of us really needed killin' that day. He pointed it elsewhere and a few shots were fired just to punctuate his points under the 1st amendment. No hard feelings; no blood drawn. The Law didn't see it that way however. Bummer. It cost him far more than he could afford.

I don't want to bother with 'carrying', but I'm grateful to those who do. Everybody's got to die of one thing or another. 1/122 of us will die in our cars. Some die of booze, some of too good a diet, some of sheer cussedness. Some die from getting their face kicked off by a bad mule, and some from foolishly tickling the hoof of a good mule. And some of us will look just plain silly, laying in a hospital dying of nothin'. Momma always said I was born to be hung, so I've no fear of drowning. Everybody's got to die sometime. Stay prayed up, be wise, and live so at least a few folks will think you didn't deserve it.

As for this Button fellow; neighbors are often hard to live with. You gotta hand it to his in-laws for giving him a place to live. Mr Button probably exemplifies the mental illness thing. It's hard enough to live with that noise coming out of your neighbor's head, but think how hard it must be for him to live with that torment screamin' inside his own skull. Now he's living in a cage just so it's safe for the rest of us. It'd be nice if there was someplace else to keep him ... and others. Life ain't easy for a boy like that. But it could always be worse for him. His Pa could have named him Sue.


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## ColoradoDave

Electric-Mayhem said:


> I see some mental health issues and some misunderstanding of rights, but I don't think it parallels the mass shootings very much. Mass shootings are largely pre-meditated....this was reactionary. I'm not saying it was right, but its different then creating a plot to do a mass shooting.
> 
> If the article is correct, it appears that the jury believed that he was not trying to kill them but only to intimidate and threaten. Its still a big deal, but does bring up a tiny bit of compassion for the guy. It was certainly an unjustified and ignorant act, but it appears that as far as he was concerned he was protecting his land from tresspasers and now he will probably be spending the rest of his life in jail because of it.
> 
> Trust me, I feel for the kayakers and what they went through and I would never want to go through that myself. However, even the guy who had the gun pointed at him said he had compassion for the dude and kind of understood why he was doing it.


I dis-agree. Any person has a choice on where they want to be in relation to the line at any given time. The line being the social contract. The Law. The Myth. However you want to view it. Step across it and pay the consequences. He stepped across, and paid the consequences. Pretty much everyone agrees firing a gun on another person is significantly over the line. 

The only reason he atoned, somewhat, to the others was because he knew he had screwed up. The only reason a jury would believe he was not trying to kill them was because they were looking at it from behind their bottled water in a courtroom seat. Not at the receiving end of his gun. The witnesses account testified he was in fear for his life.

The only ongoing question I would have is that if he is so whacked out, he should have had other problems in his life. Why flip out on a few kayakers randomly floating down the river ?

He should consider himself lucky with 4 walls, and 3 squares until he dies.


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