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As a father, I’m completely on board with setting boundaries for kids, especially when it comes to TV/electronic screen time. You have to get the kids outside or reading a book. They’ll have plenty of time to sit indoors staring at a glowing screen as an adult, and good habits start early. Unfortunately, Jennifer S. Ullrey took the concept of ‘tough love’ a little too far . . .

An Algonquin woman told authorities she was upset with what her children were watching and how much TV they consumed when she allegedly shot the TV set, Algonquin (IL) police said. …

Algonquin Deputy Police Chief Andrew Doles said the children – ages 15, 11, and 6 – were watching a music video by the rock band Primus when Ullery entered the room and fired “multiple rounds” at the TV. Doles said the children were in front of the TV on the couch when Ullery allegedly fired a Ruger .22 long rifle [sic] at the TV. It’s unclear how many shots were fired.

The fact that it was a Primus video that had the kids enthralled will almost certainly be used as a mitigating circumstance by Ms. Ullrey’s attorneys. Fortunately, none of the Ullrey offspring were injured when mom went all Elvis Presley on the TV. She’s been charged with discharge of a firearm, a felony, and an assortment of misdemeanors.

Ms. Ullrey, next time, take a time out, breathe a little, and get control of yourself before you try to discipline kiddies. If you still have custody, that is. In the mean time we’ll be sending you an IGOTD trophy so the rug rats have something at which to direct their blank slack-jawed stares while the TV is in the shop.

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54 COMMENTS

  1. As Chris Rock once said regarding what OJ Simpson did to his ex:

    I can’t condone it, but I understand.

    • I think another Chris Rock gem will apply soon:

      If a kid calls his grandmama “mama”, and his real mama “Pam”, he goin’ to jail.

      Those kids will soon be calling grandmama “mama”.

  2. Meh… I’d like to know where Algonquin gets off telling people what they can and cannot do to their property in their homes. It would be one thing if someone was hurt or somebody’s property was damaged. In this case? A felony charge is entirely unwarranted.

    • that’s kind of my feelings as well. Of course, she probably did do permanent damage to the children’s ears. But since they were listening to Primus their ears were probably already bleeding – so who’s to say.

    • This isn’t about her property, it’s about her unloading rounds inside a room with kids in it in a ridiculously unsafe manner. At some point one’s behavior can be reckless enough to deserve punishment even if the children were not killed this time.

      To say nothing of their hearing.

      • How do you know it was an unsafe manner? Just because the kids were in the room? I would argue that it was only unsafe IF the kids were not behind a line perpendicular to the muzzle. Your argument would mean that taking the kids to a gun range would be unsafe. As for their hearing, it was a .22 rifle so the damage would be negligible.

    • I live in the next town over and can tell you that in Algonquin the houses are packed tight together. Also, it is a felony to discharge a weapon inside city limits, unless of course it is for legal self-defense. It’s pretty stupid behavior too

      • I can understand “illegal”, I cannot understand “a felony”. That is just abusive.

    • “She’s been charged with discharge of a firearm, a felony, and an assortment of misdemeanors.”

      This is misleading, the felony was possession without an FOID and the misdemeanors were three counts of child endangerment. Oddly enough it doesn’t appear that she was charged with unlawful discharge, but if she was it wouldn’t likely have been a felony.

  3. I must admit that I get the urge to go all Ullrey whenever Josh Earnest is babbling on the air. But then I remember this thing called a remote control, and I know that I’m just a click away from normal blood pressure.

    • His is an earnest lying little POS isn’t he.

      Of the “I’m lying, You know I’m lying, and I know you know I’m lying, but I do it anyway school.” See also Michelle and her really special 3 day “I support the troops” campaign.

    • Careful. One day you’re going to click away from Earnest, land on Hillary, she’s going to cackle, and you’re going to lose it. It’s dangerous out there.

    • Gotta say, he’s got one of the most appropriate names ever. You’re supposed to think he’s earnest, but he’s really joshin’ you.

  5. Dumb? Possibly. I think in the grand scheme of things though this is hardly the end of the world. More than likely it wasn’t even a CRT television with the potential for a “dangerous explosion.” I can think of a lot worse things to shoot than the idiot box, personally.

  7. I had a coworker pull the same stunt in FL back in the 90’s when his late teens son came back with a big F-U I will watch what I want when I want! He ended up taking a 3-5 year vacation compliments of the state and lost his firearms privileges for life. They also took a really nice older Walther PPK when they came and got him.

    • Your coworkers punishment proves irrefutably that it is no longer possible to get what is truly a jury of one’s peers.

      • I have to agree. I would be willing to bet if alcohol hadn’t been involved the cops would have never been notified. His soon after it happened exwife called them.
        As

  9. Ironically, the whole affair sounds like something right out of a Primus video. Her name is Mud.

  11. Usually the phrase “alcohol may have played a factor” appears in these sorts of incidents.

  14. I like the precise vocabulary. One set with a 22LR? It’s an Elvis. Twelve sets with a .338 Lapua Magnum? It’s an FPS Russia.

    One set with two rounds of 12 gauge? It’s a Biden, no matter which fool pulled the trigger.

    Once the recycling fanatics show up, this chick’s gonna get the full DoJ treatment.

  15. …and we all know that the proper tool for taking out a TV is a 5-lb sledge hammer.

    Besides, .22LR is too expensive to waste.

    • I figure every home should have a fireman’s axe hanging by the TV for just such an occasion. Yes, that’s a terrible waste of perfectly good .22 ammo.

    • Have to agree. Shooting the TV is major overkill and stupid at best. This gal should not have a gun at all if she makes these kind of decisions. Why not just give the TV to Goodwill when the kids are gone somewhere? Wouldn’t that have accomplished the same thing without risking lives or ruining her children’s hearing? To say nothing of watching her act like a total idiot. What a terrible role model.

  16. Bad form. Everyone knows that the proper implement for taking out a TV is a 12-gauge shotgun.

  18. Yep I caught this on the Chicago news…lady just cut the plug off. Sounds like something from a Simpson’s episode…

  21. You can take the woman out of the trailer park. But you can’t take the trailer park out of the woman.

  22. Once my daughter defied a direct instruction to turn it off and do her homework

    I took an axe to the power cord, burying ir in the floor below the outlet.

    The demonstration was effective, and she was not permitted to watch it ’til she’d replaced the damaged tile, nor able ’til she’d
    spliced the power cord to my satisfaction.

    Sometimes you gotta.

    • Not a bad idea, Russ.

      Knowing how to chip out and replace a floor tile could save her real money if she cracks a tile in the apartment you desperately hope eventually ends up in.

      Soldering and heat-shrink tubing skills are also valuable. (Unless she uses them to assist her boyfriend in a grand theft auto endeavor.)

      Discipline and self-sufficiency skills in one go!

      *applause*

      • She’s now 27, engaged, working as a counsellor to disabled children and owns her own home between Boulder and Denver.

        Not too shabby.

  24. Only one Primus sucks comment?

    Damn, I’d thought better of the readership here.

    ps

    Kill the Pixies.

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