Gaming PC deflects bullet shot through wall by neighbour, saving owner's life — criminal negligence charges for culprit who claims 'firearm was accidentally discharged by her dog'

PC enthusiast ponders over $3,500 re-build budget after ‘neighbor shot my PC through the wall’
(Image credit: Angelbabyzz on Reddit)

A Redditor and PC gaming enthusiast says their PC might have saved their life, after the rig deflected a bullet fired through the wall of their house by their neighbour. According to the post, the neighbour claims that the firearm was accidentally discharged by her dog, sending the projectile into the house. u/angelbabyzz says police state the PC changed the trajectory of the bullet — which she found under her pillow — and that it would have otherwise hit her while she was sleeping. On a positive note, Angelbabyzz is now planning how to spend their $3,500 insurance payout on a new gaming PC build.

Neighbour shot my PC through the wall
 from r/pcmasterrace

While trying to make sense of what was happening, Angelbabyzz recalls that their neighbor arrived sobbing and shaking. They claimed that their dog had discharged the firearm, shooting through the wall, tearing through the tower PC on the other side. Images shared by the Redditor show the tower PC full of shattered glass and detritus. Among the most seriously damaged contents are G.Skill Trident Z RGB memory modules. These, and the motherboard RAM sockets, appear to have been heavily impacted by a weighty-looking lead slug.

If this tale isn’t already bordering on the bizarre, two further details push it firmly into truth-is-stranger-than-fiction territory. Firstly, Angelbabyzz’s neighbor claims that their dog “accidentally discharged” their firearm. Secondly, the police told the Redditor that “the PC changed the trajectory of the bullet, and it would have hit me while I was sleeping if the PC hadn’t been there.”

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Good neighbors

Despite their recent brush with death or serious injury, Angelbabyzz is sympathetic with her trigger-happy dog-owning neighbor. The Redditor feels “she is appropriately paying her dues in this situation and won’t be pressing for anything further.” This is on account of the “constant apologies,” as well as her gun being confiscated, the criminal charges, and the insurance / monetary penalties the neighbor will face.

After three days of cleaning up broken glass, Angelbabyzz now has the much more pleasant problem of shopping for a replacement PC with a $3,500 budget. So, after recalling their hair-raising story on Reddit and sharing the gruesome images, they are now asking for build recommendations on PCMR.

In some replies to the original post, Angelbabyzz reveals that they found the bullet under their pillow, but their SSDs are said to be completely undamaged. That might be a reference to the Samsung SATA drive we can see in some of the images.

While the RAM kit is probably the worst damaged component, we think it is worthy of keeping to frame in a presentation case - ‘My Trident Z saved my life.’ G.Skill offers a lifetime warranty on its RAM, but it only covers defects in materials and workmanship.

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Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

  • bit_user
    On the subject of accidental firearm discharges, best not keep a loaded gun in purses (i.e. in concealed carry states).
    Reply
  • Notton
    I don't think that would have been possible with most other sticks of RAM.
    G.skill trident uses thicker casted? aluminum heatsinks, where as most other models use a thinner stamped aluminum.

    I always figured the extra thickness didn't help much, but there ya go...
    Reply
  • PEnns
    Blaming the dog (or the baby) for firing a gun is all the rage these days!!

    PS: Somebody should remind this gamer that the GPU and the SSDs will devour almost 50% of their $3500 insurance settlement. The RAM should take care of the rest!
    Reply
  • bit_user
    PEnns said:
    Blaming the dog (or the baby) for firing a gun is all the rage these days!!

    PEnns said:
    PS: Somebody should remind this gamer that the GPU and the SSDs will devour almost 50% of his her $3500 insurance settlement. The RAM should take care of the rest!
    Maybe the insurance policy is "replacement value" and that's how the $3500 was arrived at? Otherwise, the amount should incorporate depreciation and $3500 would seem like a lot.
    Reply
  • warezme
    $3500, so she can either get memory or a new video card but that's it.
    Reply
  • xiq
    It's hard to tell with how messy everything is, but it seems like the only damaged components are the case, motherboard, and ram. I'd personally just replace those and save the rest of the money for other stuff. and build a new PC when the market is better.
    Reply
  • 8086
    bit_user said:
    On the subject of accidental firearm discharges, best not keep a loaded gun in purses (i.e. in concealed carry states).
    A gun in a purse is fine if it's in a specialized holster or a purse designed for concealed carry. 99.99% of all negligent discharges relating to a gun in a purse are because the owner did not have the gun in a holster..
    https://www.ladyconceal.com/collections/all-styleshttps://www.ladyconceal.com/cdn/shop/files/LCL-103_FaithCrossbody_Mahogan_Model_3.jpg?v=1775589151&width=600
    Reply
  • bit_user
    xiq said:
    It's hard to tell with how messy everything is, but it seems like the only damaged components are the case, motherboard, and ram. I'd personally just replace those and save the rest of the money for other stuff. and build a new PC when the market is better.
    Yeah, and you don't really even need to replace the case. Just use a hammer to flatten out anywhere a bullet pierced sheet metal. You could optionally then put tape over them or just leave them as speed holes.
    Reply
  • Pierce2623
    bit_user said:
    On the subject of accidental firearm discharges, best not keep a loaded gun in purses (i.e. in concealed carry states).
    Even if a gun is in a bag, it should still be in a holster so nothing can push against the trigger. Even though i have a concealed carry permit, i only keep a gun in my car inside a holster. I very rarely ever carry it on my person at all.
    Reply
  • call101010
    What kind of a weak wall is that ?
    Reply