this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2023
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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What are the circumstances in which the skulls and guns were found? police warrant? (What for?) Post mortem inventory of his estate?

[–] 1d420 20 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So yeah, Collecting guns is a thing people of means do in the US for fun when they're not keeping them around for hunting and dissuading vermin. And skulls can be obtained for a variety of reasons. (I had a set designer with six-plus skulls he'd use as molds for dozens of plaster skulls when he needed them for film settings.)

Unless he's committed an actual crime, or even just needed a license for collecting guns in his county when he had none, this is essentially reporting a celebrity likes the wrong kind of porn.

[–] 1d420 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"In December 2018, The Tampa Bay Times reported that the guitarist had called relatives speaking about extraterrestrials arriving and "the rapture," before his house burned down. As the headline states, the investigators found 80 firearms (50 of which were shotguns), weapon parts, and the three skulls. O'Brien had broken into a neighbor's home with a knife, where he was later tased by an officer. His house caught fire shortly after, and explosions caused by ammunition made it difficult for firefighters to put out the fire."

He had, indeed, committed a crime. Not a gun (or presumably skull) related crime, but a crime nonetheless.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Oh dear. That presents an actual problem.

I'll still give him the benefit of the doubt that there may be some justification for a knife and a break-in. It seems unlikely though, and in that case, yeah, maybe he shouldn't be trusted with bunches of guns.

The whole danger to self or others thing is a common limit.