Needs Glasses??

Man shoots boy in tree after asking if he's a pigeon

A British man has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for shooting a 12-year-old boy in a tree.

Daniel Clarke, 22, was shooting pigeons with an air rifle near his Norwich home, located 185 km northeast of London, on Sept. 19, the Telegraph newspaper reported.

Clarke noticed two boys in a nearby tree, and had a conversation with them.

One of the boys told Clarke he isn't a pigeon.

"Clarke than asked him if he was sure and started firing randomly," prosecutor Christopher Youell said, the paper reported.

Clarke then walked away from the tree and said, 'Wait there, I'll see if I can hit you from here."

One of the boys felt a sting on the right side of his head. He'd been hit less than an inch from his eye.

The boys left the tree and ran home.

Defence lawyer Andrew Shaw said from 40 feet away, there was "no certainty" Clarke would hit the boy and the man's behaviour was reckless, but not intentional, the newspaper reported.

But Judge Peter Jacobs told Clarke he could have blinded the boy.