Telegraph.co.uk
Drunk German father shoots himself in front of family in Christmas Day Russian roulette
Last Updated: 12:21AM GMT 30 Dec 2008

A German family's Christmas celebrations were ruined when a drunk father killed himself while playing Russian roulette in front of them.

Ulrich Schmidt, a 52-year-old forestry worker from Cologne, drank too much schnapps at his family's holiday celebrations, police said.

After lunch, in a bid to entertain his family, he pulled out the .38 revolver he kept for work, to put injured animals out of their misery. As his horrified wife and children looked on, Mr Schmidt loaded a single bullet into one of the six chambers and spun the the cylinder of the gun.

Telling his children that he was going to play Russian roulette, he held the revolver to his head and then pulled the trigger.

Mr Schmidt collapsed in his chair as blood poured from his head. He was taken to hospital, where he died on Saturday.

[ related ]

Spiegel Online
Cologne Man Kills Himself at Russian Roulette
12/29/2008

It was a drunken act of madness that went tragically wrong: An inebriated German man decided to play Russian roulette with a loaded revolver in front of his family at Christmas, and lost.

Evidently charades or board games weren't exciting enough. A 52-year-old man in Cologne who had drunk too much on Christmas Day last Thursday picked up his revolver, loaded one bullet into the barrel and spun it, declaring "Now we're going to play Russian roulette!"



His wife, children, other relatives and friends watched on as the man, named only as Ulrich S., pointed the gun at his temple. "We thought he was joking," a friend told Bild newspaper.

WDEF.com (TN)
Cleveland Officer Charged in Shooting Investigation
Submitted by WDEF on December 19, 2008 - 12:54pm

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has charged Officer Jonathan Hammons with perjury and filing a false report.

They are not saying much yet about the case.

But it involves one officer shooting another last month in a Russian Roulette kind of game.




Officers originally reported that Chris Mason was shot in the hand when a gun accidentally discharged.

But since an internal investigation into what really happened.. Two officers have been suspended and a third has resigned.

(NB. The editorial team does not under any circumstances add commentary to this web service but we do have to point out: cops.)

[ UPDATE from Chattanooga Times Free Press ]

22-year-old Houstonian killed in Russian roulette game
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Dec. 7, 2008, 12:11AM

A 22-year-old man died after he was allegedly shot during a game of Russian roulette at a northwest Houston apartment early Saturday morning, authorities said.

Four men and one woman were in the 8700 block of Hammerly around midnight to celebrate a new apartment one of the men had just rented when the men decided to play Russian roulette, authorities said.

Investigators learned that one of the men pointed the gun at his head, but the weapon did not fire a live round.

The Eagle Tribune (MA)
Published: December 16, 2008 02:40 pm
Gun missing from scene of Russian roulette shooting
By Jim Patten
jpatten@eagletribune.com

LAWRENCE — A 24-year-old Lawrence man shot himself in the head during an apparent drunken game of Russian roulette and was in critical condition, police said.

And police said the gun Israel Rodriguez used in the ultimate game of chance was missing early yesterday.

Rodriguez was in the basement of an East Laurel Street apartment at the time of the shooting.