Be Quiet or Next Time We'll Finish the Job

In Snohomish, Washington the high school football team has always had a long tradition of firing off a cannon everytime the home team scores. When the original cannon gave out in the 1980's, students in the school's metal shop built a new one.

The cannon is a part of the town.

"Football is a huge part of the community. When there's a game on, you can hear it going from anywhere in town."-Paula McVey, mother of a Snohomish student

The cannon is so beloved that anybody who poses a threat to it is considered Public Enemy #1.

Snohomish student Brett Karch is that Public Enemy #1. He is the evil incarnate sent by Satan himself to end the tradition that the town cherishes.

What did Karch do?

He got shot in the leg by the cannon.

On Oct. 6 -- the night of the Snohomish Panthers big homecoming game against rival Everett High School -- Karch prepared as usual for the firing of the cannon.

He helped roll the coffee table-sized artillery piece to the field where he and two other cadets packed the barrel with about 5 ounces of gunpowder.

With 10 seconds to go before the game, Cadet Alex Brown, 18, the officer in charge of the firing team, began the countdown.

The other cadets stood at attention except Karch, who leaned in, finger at the ready.

"Fire," Brown commanded. Karch pulled the trigger.

The boom, which normally rattled the bleachers, was louder than usual, witnesses said.

The concussion temporarily deafened Brown, who couldn't see through the smoke for several seconds. When the smoke cleared, he saw Karch lying on the ground clutching his left leg.

"I almost thought he was joking, and I going to yell at him, 'It's not funny,' " said Brown. Then he heard Karch's screams.

The cannon was blown apart. Pieces of it landed 30 feet away, some even touching down in the end zone.

"My leg went flying, and I fell on my right side," said Karch. "Kids were staggering around. I looked at my leg and felt it burning."

Karch had to face nearly having his leg amputated, and now will have to undergo at least a year of physical therapy, and there is no guarantee his leg will ever be all right.

So the people of Snohomish are rallying around Brett and his rehab. Oh wait, no that's not what they're doing at all.

But the shot that nearly took off Brett Karch's leg now leaves the fate of that tradition in the air, and that has upset some in the community.

According to Karch's medical records, security guards notified police after Karch received disturbing phone calls and visits from parents and students, some of whom threatened to "break his other leg" or worse, if he didn't keep quiet about the accident. Hospital staff had to move him to a secure room where they monitored visitors.

Callers and visitors told Karch they would "make sure his other leg got blown off," and that "there would be retaliation" if the family cooperated in an investigation that could end the cannon tradition, said Mary Bissel, Karch's mother. "That's when I kind of got a little upset," Karch said.

Besides the threats, Karch has become a social pariah in the town. Even his get well cards put his safety in the background. One card included this at the end, "Football wouldn't be the same without the big boom at kickoff."

The students at the school are upset with him, and even his friends have ditched him.

All for a dumb ass cannon. Paula McVey tried to support the family by raising funds for them. She could only muster up $200, and all of that came from families and students of other schools.

We aren't even sure what to say about this. It's just sad, in an incredibly scary Stepford Wives kinda way. We've never been to Snohomish, but we figure it kinda looks like Night of the Living Dead minus all the brain-eating, but with more cannons.

Tank Johnson is reportedly looking to buy a home there.